


A New Friend

by Amyrose47



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Alternate Universe - Apocalypse, Angel War, Angst and Feels, Bisexual Male Character, Boyfriends, Cute Jack Kline, Episode Related, Family Feels, Family Issues, First Kiss, First Love, Friends to Lovers, Friendship/Love, Hunters & Hunting, Innocent Jack Kline, Klarker - Freeform, Misinterpretations, Multiple chapters, Mutual Pining, Poor Jack Kline, Prank Wars, Prayer, Protectiveness, Rebel Clark Barker, Recreational Drug Use, Sad and Happy, Sarcasm, Self-Esteem Issues, Sigils, Wayward Sisters, With Super Powers, he's just a kid, sam is a good dad
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-11
Updated: 2019-01-31
Packaged: 2019-08-21 23:13:56
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Major Character Death, Underage
Chapters: 16
Words: 36,728
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16586138
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Amyrose47/pseuds/Amyrose47
Summary: Jack visits Clark after begging Sam to take him. He quickly befriends the black haired rebel.





	1. It Starts with an Apology

**Author's Note:**

> Forewarning: I intend to make a lot of chapters for this story. It's definitely going to be a slow build. Should be worth it in the end though. : )

Jack stood in the kitchen, smiling. Yesterday he had finally been able to use his powers for good, saving Sam from the bad shapeshifter. Dean had even told him that he did a good job. Surely, they could grant him this request. Jack loaded up a plate with breakfast food and joined the hunters at the war room table. "Sam. Dean. I've been thinking." He started. "Oh boy." Dean commented, looking at Sam pointedly. "I would like to go and check on Clark and his mother." Jack stated. "The sheriff and her kid?" Dean asked. "Why?" Sam huffed and gave Dean a look. "They got hurt because of me. Now that my powers are more under control, I would like to make sure that they are okay." Jack answered. "Woah there kid. Your powers are NOT under control. You did good yesterday, but that had nothing to do with control." Dean spat. "I think that's a wonderful idea, Jack." Sam interjected. "Of course you do." Dean said, annoyed. "Well then, you two knock yourselves out." Dean stood from the table, taking his plate with him and heading down the hall. Sam sighed deeply. "Well, it's almost a thirty hour drive to get there, so go pack yourself a bag accordingly." Sam directed. "I'll call Sheriff Barker." Jack smiled brightly. "Thank you, Sam." 

Two days later they arrived at the Barker's house in North Cove, Washington. Christine greeted them at the front door. "Welcome! It's really nice of you boys to come check in on us." She said. "Of course." Sam replied with a polite smile. "How is he?" Jack asked anxiously as he entered the home. "He still has a few more weeks of healing ahead of him, but, he's alive. And that's what matters." Christine told them. Jack nodded in agreement. "He's down the hall in his room. Second door on the left, if you'd like to go talk to him." She added. "Yes. Thank you." Jack said, heading off to find Clark. He knocked on the door quietly. 

"Yeah." Clark called. Jack opened the door and stepped into the room. It was much different than the bare sleeping quarters in the bunker. There were clothes thrown everywhere, a giant t.v. against one wall, a desk and chair against another, and the walls were covered in band posters. An odd smell also assaulted Jack. It smelled like smoke, weed, and dirty laundry. He scrunched his nose. In the bed, Clark laid shirtless with most of his midsection covered in bandages. "Jack!" Clark smiled. "I didn't think I would be seeing you again." He said. "I wanted to make sure that you were okay." Jack explained, walking over to grab the desk chair and moving it to the side of Clark's bed. "Does it still hurt?" He asked curiously after he sat down. "Yeah, it does. It's also really itchy." The sheriff's son sighed. "I'm so sorry, Clark. It's my fault that you got stabbed. I'm sorry that I put you in harm's way." Jack apologized. "Yeah, well, life is always risky. When is anyone truly out of harm's way?" Clark questioned. 

Jack nodded. That made sense. Clark propped himself up with some pillows. "So, angel boy, I didn't get very many details from my mom. Maybe you could fill me in?" Clark asked. Jack looked confused and tilted his head at the pet name. "What's your story, bro?" Clark tried again. "My...story?" Jack repeated. "Yeah dude. What are you? Why were those angels looking for you? And why, for the love of God, were you naked at the drive thru?" Clark laughed. He clutched his side in pain from the movement. Jack winced, he wished he could heal the boy. "I am a Nephilim. My mother was human and my real father is an archangel. The angels were looking for me because they wanted to use me for my powers." Clark looked at him in awe. "I was naked because I had just been born." Jack explained. Clark raised an eyebrow at him. "Yeah, right. You were born two weeks ago." He said sarcastically. "Yes." Jack answered simply. "Wait, then how are you..." Clark gestured towards all of Jack. "My mother told me that I had to grow up quickly. That the world was too dangerous, so I couldn't be a baby." Clark sat there dumbfounded. "Wow man. That's wild." He said. "So, uh, was I the first person you saw then? Lucky you." Clark teased. Jack laughed in response. "Oh. I brought you something." Jack said, remembering the candy bars he bought. He produced a couple of Snickers bars from his jacket pocket. Clark beamed. 

Out in the living room Sam sat on an oversized lazy boy chair, engaged in a conversation with the sheriff. He was explaining what they knew about angels, demons, and monsters. "We have a few hunter friends that are sheriffs. Jody Mills in South Dakota and Donna Hanscum in Minnesota. Here, I'll give you their numbers." Sam offered. He scribbled on a notepad that he withdrew from his duffel bag. "Cool. That will be helpful." Christine commented. Sam tore the page off and handed it to Sheriff Barker and she tucked the paper away in a pocket. "So, how's the kid adjusting?" Christine asked, leaning forward, clasping her hands together, and placing her elbows on top of her knees. "Honestly? He's been struggling. I've been trying to help him get his powers under control, and he's getting better at it everyday. But...he's dealing with some pretty heavy stuff." Sam explained to her. "What kind of heavy stuff? And what kind of powers does he have, exactly?" She asked curiously. She had seen and felt his power first hand but she couldn't really understand it. "Well, we don't know the extent of Jack's powers yet. Lore says that a Nephilim possesses more power than the angel that created it. So, theatrically, Jack could be more powerful than an archangel." Sam informed the sheriff. "But.. right now he's working through some father issues." Christine nodded. "Right. Castiel. Did you guys find him?" Sam Sat back into the chair and rubbed his face with his hands. "Castiel isn't his real father. He was chosen by Jack's mother to raise him. See, his mother died during childbirth. Unfortunately Castiel was killed right after Jack was born, by the kid's biological father, Lucifer." Christine jolted upright at that. "Lucifer? As in the devil? Jack is the devil's son?" She asked, completely stunned. "Yes. And Jack is afraid that he'll turn evil because of it. But he isn't evil, he's good and pure like his mother was." Christine relaxed slightly but her eyes darted down the hall and she swallowed hard. "I think I'll go check on the boys, I was going to take them something to drink anyway." The sheriff declared. Sam nodded solemnly in understanding. 

Christine knocked loudly on Clark's door and then entered his room. Jack and Clark were busy eating candy bars and laughing about something. Mrs.Barker smiled and shook her head. "I brought you boys some iced tea." She said, lifting up the glasses in her hands. "Thanks mom! Perfect timing." Clark told her. "Thank you Sheriff Barker." Jack said with a big chocolatey grin. She chuckled at the sight. "You can call me Christine." She told Jack, handing him a glass. Her heart started to return to it's usual rate. She handed her son the other glass and then sat on his bedside. "How are feeling Clark?" She asked. "Like I've been stabbed." He said jokingly. Jack tilted his head again at Clark's words. He was still trying to get used to sarcasm, though he did get a lot of practice with it from Dean. Christine shot her son 'the mom look'. He sighed. "The pain is getting worse from all the moving around." Clark confessed. His mom nodded. "It's about time for your pain medication anyway. I'll go grab it." She said with a forced smile.

On her way out of the door, she almost bumped into Sam. "Sorry." He said before stepping to the side so she could squeeze through the narrow hallway. Sam stood in the doorway and waved at Clark. "Hi." Clark greeted through clenched teeth. The pain was quickly overwhelming him. "Hey." Sam responded with an apologetic look on his face. "You look a bit pale, are you alright?" Sam asked. Jack's brows furrowed with worry. He hated seeing Clark in pain. He wanted to take it away but he didn't know how. Without much forethought Jack reached out a hand, grabbing hold of one of Clark's and squeezing. Clark didn't pull away from the intimate gesture. Instead he smiled weakly at Jack. Then he laid back, sinking slightly into the mound of pillows that were propping him up. They stayed like this for a few moments, until Mrs.Barker returned to the room with Clark's medication. Jack let go of the boys hand and stood, offering Christine the bedside chair. "Thank you Jack." She sat down and handed Clark a few pills, which he downed with some iced tea. "We, uh, we better get going." Sam said after clearing his throat. Christine nodded at Sam and then ran her fingers lovingly through Clark's semi long hair. Jack stood still, watching them interact, and his soul longed for his absent mother's touch. "You are a very good mother." Jack told Mrs.Barker. "And you are a very good friend." She replied. Sam smiled at that. "Come on, Jack. Let's let them rest. We can always come back another time, as long as Christine says it's okay." Sam looked to her. "Of course. You're both welcome here anytime." The sheriff replied.

Sam and Jack returned to the Impala and set off for Kansas. "Thank you, Sam. For taking me to see Clark." Jack said as they headed down the highway. "You're welcome. I'm glad we checked in on them. I think it was really good for you, too." Sam told the kid. Jack nodded. "I wish I could have healed him." He sighed. "Maybe someday you'll learn how." Sam offered. "You still did a great job of making him feel better. I heard you two joking around and laughing. Plus, holding his hand when he was in pain was very empathetic of you. You're a good kid, Jack." Sam counseled. Jack smiled contently and sat back into the seat, getting comfortable for the long ride ahead.


	2. When the Hunter's are Away, the Boy's Will Play

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sam and Dean leave Jack at the bunker on their next case about a missing teen. Jack uses this time to work on his powers, with a little help from Clark.

Sam knocked loudly on Jacks door, but there was no answer. So he opened the door slowly, peering inside. Jack was sitting cross-legged on his bed, eyes glued to the computer on his lap, and thick black headphones covered his ears. Sam approached him and laid a hand on his shoulder to get his attention. Jack startled and looked up. "Sam. Sorry, I was just watching the movie that you suggested." Jack said, moving the headphones to rest around his neck, as he'd seen Clark do before. "That's alright Jack, I just wanted to see if you would be okay staying at the bunker for a few days while Dean and I go investigate a case." Sam told him. "Yeah. That would be fine." Jack replied simply. "Good. I'll just add a some extra warding for you then." Sam smiled. "The fridge is stocked and you have the password for Netflix. You sure you'll be alright?" Sam questioned with worry. "Yes." Jack assured. "Okay. Well, we'll be back as soon as we're done." Sam promised before heading out the bedroom door and leaving Jack to his own devices. 

Once the movie was over, Jack set the computer aside. He stretched his arms overhead and yawned before standing from the bed. Then he walked out into the war room and looked around at the empty bunker. It felt good to have a little privacy. Maybe now he could practice moving that stupid pencil without Sam breathing down his neck. Jack sat at the table, where the pencil still laid, mocking him. He took a deep breath and willed himself to concentrate. Then he raised a hand above it and tried to make it move, but to no avail. "This is stupid." He said out loud. The more frustrated he became, the less his powers wanted to cooperate. Jack sat back into the chair and growled after several lackluster attempts. He picked the pencil up and threw it across the room. 'There. I moved it.' Jack thought bitterly. He stood from the table and opted to make himself a hot pocket for lunch. Jack enjoyed the simplicity of frozen foods. They required very little effort and time. Not more than two minutes later, he bit into a steaming ham and cheddar hot pocket. Mmm. Jack loved cheese. He stood by the kitchen counter, eating and contemplating what else he could do to work on his powers. 

He remembered Dean asking if he could teleport. Jack had teleported just outside of a hotel they were in, when he had gotten upset at Sam, Dean, and Donatello. Now Jack wondered if he could do it without being prompted by emotion. He finished his food and wiped his hands off on his jeans. 'Where do I even start?' He wondered. Jack closed his eyes and pictured mountains, imagined the sounds of waves lapping a shoreline, and imagined the smell of pine trees. He let the imagery seep in until it felt real. When he opened his eyes, he was standing there, in North Cove. Jack smiled brightly. He did it! He finally did it of his own will. 'This is where Clark lives.' Jack reminded himself. He walked a few miles into town, to the Barker's house, and knocked on the front door. He heard footsteps and then Mrs.Barker opened the door. "Jack!" She exclaimed. "I wasn't expecting to see you today." Jack smiled politely at her. "It was an impromptu decision." He informed her. Christine looked around the porch. "Where's Sam?" She asked. "Oh, he and Dean went on a hunt." Jack replied. "You came here by yourself? Here, come on in." She said, moving aside so Jack could enter. "I flew here." Jack stated casually. "Flew? They let you on an airplane by yourself?" Christine asked. Jack chuckled. "No, I...well, Dean calls it 'Teleporting'." He said. "Oh." Mrs.Barker responded. "Cool." She forced a smile. "Is it okay if I hang out with Clark for a little while?" Jack asked. The sheriff nodded. "Thank you, Christine." Jack said, and then he walked down the hall to Clark's room and knocked on the door. 

"Come in." Clark called. Jack pushed the door open and walked into the room. It was still a mess, just like last time. "Jack! Hey. I didn't know you were coming today." Clark exclaimed. Jack thought that he would still be bed ridden, but instead he was sitting at his desk. "Sorry. I just, I've been practicing with my powers today. I teleported here." Jack beamed, he was so proud of himself. "You teleported?" Clark asked incredulously. "Yes. I mean, I flew. With my wings." Jack clarified. "Your wings." Clark repeated, looking at Jack in pure wonderment. "You're out of your bed." Jack observed. "Yeah. Yeah, I'm slowly getting better." Clark told him. "What are you doing?" He asked curiously. He crossed the room to stand near the sheriff's son. "Drawing." Clark told him. "You drew these?" Jack asked, looking over the art strewn across the desktop. Clark nodded his answer. "These are...amazing." Jack said. Clark smiled up at Jack and brought a hand up to scratch behind his ear. "Thanks, man." 

Jack sat down on Clark's bed and they talked for a while. Clark told him about all of his different interests, which included music and playing instruments, drawing, mountain biking, and going to high school parties. Jack asked him about his smoking habit and learned that Clark smokes both cigarettes and weed. Clark told him that cigarettes are bad, but weed is not. "Why do you smoke cigarettes if they're bad?" Jack asked him. "Ah. It's, uh, just a bad habit that I picked up from some buddies." Clark explained. "Aren't friends supposed to care about you and your well being?" Jack asked, his brows furrowed in confusion. Clark nodded. "There are lots of kinds of friends." Clark responded solemnly. The room filled with silence and Jack watched Clark sketch.

"Do you think...Would you want to help me learn how to use my powers?" Jack asked after a while. "You think I could help?" Clark questioned. "I mean, I'm just a seventeen year old boy, Jack. And I barely know anything about the supernatural." Jack thought for a moment. "I think that's exactly why you could help me." He declared. Clark nodded and smiled at Jack. "Okay." He agreed. "Well, what kind of things do you want to work on?" Clark asked the nephilim. "I'm not sure what all I can do. I have wanted to try healing though, so that I could heal your stab wound." Jack looked down at Clark's midsection. "You could do that?" Clark wondered aloud. "Yes. I do know that angel's can heal, as well as smite, move objects at will, and read thoughts." Jack listed off. "Wow." Clark exclaimed. "Here, take your shirt off." Jack instructed. Clark laughed at the request and then carefully raised his shirt up over his head. "You're bandages too." Jack told him. Clark raised an eyebrow. "Please." Jack added. Clark peeled the bandage away to reveal an ugly scab and some stitches, surrounded by yellow bruising. It was quite grisly. Jack stood from the bed and walked over to Clark, kneeling at his side. He looked into Clark's icy blue eyes and then reached his hand forward, gently resting his fingers over the wound. Clark jumped at the touch but then relaxed. 

Jack looked intently at Clark's injury and imagined his body whole again. Clark watched as Jack's eyes lit up a bright Gold. He swallowed roughly, nervous about what was about to happen. A gold light radiated from Jack's fingers and seeped into Clark's skin. Slowly but steadily, Jack was able to heal the damage deep within Clark's abdomen. However, the light faded before Jack could finish healing the more superficial part of the injury. Jack withdrew his hand to reveal that the scab and bruises were still there. Jack sighed deeply. "Jack." Clark breathed. "You did it." He told him. "Only partly." Jack said flatly. "It...it doesn't hurt anymore. I mean the skin is tender, but the sharp pain inside is gone! It's a miracle!" Clark exclaimed, jumping up from the chair. Jack also stood and was immediately attacked with a hug. "Thank you!" Clark said into the nephilim's shoulder. Jack felt his heart flutter at Clark's proximity. He hugged Clark back and smiled. "I guess that wasn't too bad for a start." Jack reasoned. "Are you kidding?" Clark laughed. "That was..." The black haired boy was lost for words, so he just smiled ear to ear instead. "Wow. I have to go tell my mom!" Clark said, giddy. He rushed out of the bedroom and Jack followed behind. "Mom! Mom!" Clark called. "What's wrong?" Mrs.Barker asked, running out of the kitchen. "Jack healed me! My side doesn't hurt anymore!" He exclaimed. His mom's face lit up. "Really?" Clark encompassed her in a hug. She clasped a hand over her mouth in shock and hugged her son back with the other. When Clark pulled away, Christine walked over to Jack and wrapped him in a hug as well. "Thank you. Thank you, Jack." She said before pulling back and smiling brightly at him. "Jack, honey, are you okay?" Christine asked him, her smile fading. "I..." Jack felt dizzy and shaky. "I don't feel so good." He answered weakly. Clark and his mom raced forward and caught Jack as he collapsed.


	3. The Birds and the Bees

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jack and Clark play video games and eat pizza, because they're teenage boys and they deserve to have fun.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ***WARNING*** This chapter is rated MATURE. There is a little cursing and Clark tries to explain sex.

Jack sat at the war room table in the bunker, typing away on a laptop, when Sam and Dean returned. "How'd it go?" Jack asked aloud, not bothering to look up from the bright screen. "Well..." Dean responded. "Jack, um..." Sam started. Jack finally looked up at the hunters. "What's wrong?" Jack inquired with a puzzled look on his face. Both of the brother's looked over to a dark haired man in a trench coat as he walked in to join them. "Hello Jack." A deep voice greeted. "Castiel?" Jack asked, shocked."That's me." Cas answered fighting a grin. "No. We burned your body, and what's burned stays dead." Jack stated, repeating what Dean had told him. "How?" Jack reiterated. "That's what we've been asking." Dean told the kid."Jack. Did you, uh, did you bring Cas back?" Sam asked, his eyes still misty from the unexpected reunion. "I don't know. I wanted him back. I...begged for him to come back. But..." Jack said slowly, thinking hard. "Well here he is." Dean stated incredulously. "Because of me?" Jack asked. "We don't know. We don't know, Jack. But we think maybe." Sam smiled. "Thank you Jack." Cas told the nephilim sincerely. They stood and looked at each other for a moment before Jack walked forward to hug his father. "I missed you so much." He told Cas. Closing his eyes and hugging him tighter. 

He felt a strange sensation, so he looked up over the angel's shoulder to see that they were no longer in the dark bunker, but in a bright grassy green meadow. A look of confusion flashed across Jack's face. "Why did you..." He started to ask Castiel, but Cas was gone. Jack stood alone in the field, wondering what could have happened. Did he teleport accidentally? "Jack." A gentle voice called from behind. Jack spun around to see Clark standing there. He was wearing a plain white t-shirt and jet black skinny jeans that matched the color of his hair. His striking blue eyes stood out like beacons against his neutral palette. A breeze swept up and tousled the rebels hair. Jack's breath caught in his throat at the sight. Clark was so beautiful. Jack's heart pumped faster and faster as Clark approached him, stopping right in front of him. Too close to be considered platonic. "Clark." Jack breathed. And just like that...everything was gone again. 

Jack bolted upright from the couch he had been sleeping on. He looked around wildly, trying to place where he was at. "Woah. Woah, Jack. It's okay." Clark told him with his hands up defensively. Clark had been sitting in a chair nearby watching over Jack as he slept. "It's okay." Clark repeated. "I...I was dreaming?" Jack asked, his voice a bit shaky. "Yeah. Yeah, Jack. You passed out after healing me. It must have drained your energy." Clark explained. "How long was I asleep?" He asked. Clark looked over to a clock hanging on the wall behind them. "About twelve hours?" He informed. Jack nodded, soaking in the information. His dream had felt so real, at least the first part about Castiel did. The part about Clark felt a lot fuzzier. Jack rubbed his face with both hands, trying to ground himself in the present. Clark joined the nephilim on the couch, sitting right next to him. "I don't think you should try healing again for a while." Clark told him out of concern. "But I didn't get to finish healing you." Jack reminded him. "Yeah, I know. That's okay. I don't want you to get hurt." Clark told him. Jack smiled. It made him feel good that Clark cared about his well being. "You're a good friend." He stated out loud. Clark managed a half smile. "So are you." He replied. 

They sat in silence for a few minutes, leaned back into the big couch cushions. Clark didn't seem too tired, he must have slept part of the night. "So...what do you want to do today? Do you need to get home?" Clark asked. "No. Sam and Dean won't be back for at least three more days." Jack informed him. "Nice. Do they know that you came here?" Clark questioned. "No." Jack answered simply. "So you snuck out of the house to come see me, then? You're like an average rebellious teenager, but with super powers." Clark laughed gently. Jack tilted his head to the side. "I'm not a superhero, Clark. I'm just the devil's son trying to follow in his mother's footsteps." He sighed. Clark laughed even harder. The sound lightened Jack's heavy thoughts and he smiled despite himself. "Why don't we do something...normal, today?" Jack suggested. "Dude, we should order a pizza and play video games!" Clark told him excitedly. "It's fun, and that's, like, the most normal thing a teenage boy could do, besides, well...never mind. What do you say?" Clark asked. "That sounds awesome!" Jack answered.

Clark ordered a couple of pepperoni pizzas and then he and Jack went to his room to play on his PS4. "Dude, how are you so good at this?" Clark asked exasperated, as they battled zombies on Call of Duty: Black Ops 3. "It's fairly simple in it's objective." Jack replied. Sheriff Barker knocked on the partially opened bedroom door an hour later to hand the boys their pizzas. Clark saved and exited the game. "Thanks mom! I'm starving." He exclaimed, grabbing the two large pizzas from her. "How's it going in here?" She asked, looking around at the messy room. "It's going awesome. Jack is really good at first person shooter games." He informed his mother. "Mm-hmm. And are you boys going to clean up later?" She asked, raising a stern brow. "Yeah, mom. Don't worry." Clark told her. "It's my job to worry. Besides, I've got to head into work soon." She told the boys. "Are...are you two going to be alright while I'm gone?" She asked. "Yes. We will be fine." Jack reassured her. Christine gave Clark her ever famous 'mom look'. "I had better not get a call while I'm at the office about some kind of angelic explosion or accidental time travel." She said sternly, but her hard look broke and she huffed out a laugh at the absurdity of what she just said. Clark fought back a grin as well. "I'm not practicing my powers today." Jack assured. "Good. Behave, you two." The sheriff ordered before exiting the room. 

"Alright, I want to play GTA 5. Do you mind watching? It's not a two player game." Clark told the other boy. "Sure." Jack shrugged. They opened a box of pepperoni pizza and dug in. He watched Clark blow things up, steal cars, and otherwise wreak havoc in the video game. "What is the point of this game? We killed monsters in the other game, but in this one you're the bad guy." Jack observed with concern. "Yeah, well, sometimes its fun to pretend to be the bad guy. You know? Like, you do things in the game that you would never do in real life." Clark answered. Jacks mouth twisted in thought. The character Clark was playing passed by a hooker on the street and Clark decided it would be hilarious to pick her up, in order to see Jack's reaction. "What...What is she doing?" Jack asked, utterly confused. Clark lost it and started laughing hysterically. "What? I don't understand." Jack said, blushing from embarrassment. "It's called a blow job." Clark giggled. "A blow job?" Jack asked, still not understanding. Clark laughed even harder hearing the innocent little angel boy say those words. Tears of laughter streamed down his face. Jack ended up laughing too at the sound and sight of Clark's laughter. Clark paused the game and took a minute to regain his composure. "Oh my God, that's great." Clark commented, running a finger under his eye to wipe away the tears. "I..I'm sorry Jack, it was just too easy." He chuckled. Jack shook his head, still grinning. "I'll take it no ones given you 'The Talk' yet. You, know. The birds and the bees and all." Clark said. Jack tilted his head again, so thoroughly confused. "What do birds and bees have to do with a blow job?" Jack questioned. Clark unsuccessfully fought back another laugh. 

"Sex, Jack. No ones told you about sex." Clark clarified. "No. What's sex?" Jack asked. "Ah, dude, I don't know if I'm the right person to tell you." Clark pondered. Jack looked disappointed. "Fuck it, man. I'll explain it to you." Clark caved. He took in a deep breath and let it out. How exactly do you explain it? "Well, do you know what love is?" Clark asked. "I love my family and my friends." Jack responded. "That's a different kind of love. Romantic love is when...like, when you're attracted to a person that's not related to you, I guess?" Clark sighed. This was hard. Maybe he should explain it differently, you don't have to be in love with someone in order to have sex with them. "Never mind about love. When you're attracted to another person, you're heart rate speeds up around them, you might feel like you have butterflies in your stomach, and you want to kiss them." Clark explained. "Oh. I can understand that." Jack said happily. "Good. Now, there are four bases that you can...score...with someone. First base is Kissing, second base is touching above the waist, third is touching below the waist, which includes hand jobs and blow jobs, and home base is good old fashioned sex." Clark couldn't believe he was telling Jack this, but in all fairness he brought it upon himself. "So, hand job is when someone...gets you off by..." Clark couldn't do it. It was too weird trying to put it into words. Jack leaned forward, hoping to be informed about these things that had Clark blushing and stumbling on his words. "I can't explain it to you. Here, I'll show you. If you want." Clark told the blonde haired boy as he walked over to his computer desk. "Yes. Please." Jack replied. Clark typed in an explicit web address and videos immediately popped up. Clark clicked play on a blow job video that caught his attention. "Oh." Was all Jack said at first. He watched curiously with his brows furrowed. Clark sat dumbfounded in his computer chair, not believing that he was actually showing Jack porn and they were watching it together. He crossed his legs to hide the fact that this was massively turning him on. "Is sex just between guys and girls?" Jack asked. Clark's heart jumped up into his throat. He shook his head no, not trusting himself to speak. Clark typed something in a search bar and gay videos popped up. Clark played one of them. "Sex can be between guys and girls, girls and girls, guys and guys, and multiple people at once." Clark informed the nephilim. "What is the purpose of it?" Jack asked, his eyes glued to the screen. "Uh, to make each other feel good, basically. And to express love in some cases." Clark said. "A guy and girl together is called straight, two guys is called gay, two girls is called lesbian, and someone that has sex with either guys or girls is called bisexual." Clark elaborated. "There are a lot of different ways to do it." Jack observed. 'If only you knew'. Clark thought. He cleared his throat and closed his laptop. "People are very complex." Jack said. Clark nodded in agreement. He made himself behave, as hard as it was. He didn't want to take advantage of Jack's innocence. "Let's watch a movie." He suggested.


	4. I Like Being With You

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Short chapter about Clark helping Jack move that stupid pencil with his mind.

Sheriff Barker arrived home after her shift, sometime around midnight. As she hung her jacket up in the front room closet, Christine noticed that the couch was bare and she wondered if Jack had gone home. She removed her boots and quietly walked down the hallway. The old house still groaned under her weight but it wasn't nearly loud enough to be concerning. She stopped at her son's bedroom door, where she could hear the sound of a T.V. flowing from the room. Mrs.Barker gently pushed the bedroom door open and looked inside. Clark and Jack were both sound asleep, sat up on the bed, leaning against a mountain of pillows. Jack was leaned into her son, who had an arm around the other boy. They must have fallen asleep watching movies, she garnered. Christine couldn't help but smile at the innocence of the two boys cuddled together. She silently thanked God that they weren't laying there naked, which she honestly wouldn't have put past her son, and then she quickly entered the room and turned off the T.V. Mrs.Barker closed her eyes and sighed. Clark's room was in an even more disrupted state than when she left, even though she had asked him to clean up. She picked up the two empty pizza boxes off of the floor, along with some other trash that had been strewn about, and then walked back out to the kitchen to discard of it. Then she walked back down the hall, closed Clark's door, and proceeded to her own room. Christine exchanged her work clothes for pajamas and then practically belly flopped into her nice cozy bed.

Clark woke the next morning with an arm still around Jack. He smiled brightly and then moved his arm out from behind the nephilim. It had fallen asleep and now he was trying to return feeling to it. Jack stirred at the movement. "Mornin' angel boy." Clark grinned. Jack smiled a lope sided grin at the nickname. "Mornin'" Jack replied, stretching lazily. "Are you...going to stay again today?" Clark asked between a yawn. "I would like to. I like being with you." Jack stated. Clark's stomach flip flopped at the confession. "I like being with you too." He replied. "I need to practice moving objects with my mind today." Jack informed, completely missing the meaning of what they just said to each other. "Yeah?" Clark asked. "Sam wants me to be able to move a pencil across a table." Jack told him. "That doesn't sound too complicated." Clark commented, leaning over Jack to grab a pack of cigarettes off of his nightstand. 

"Well, I haven't had any luck so far." Jack sighed. "Don't worry, you'll get there." Clark assured him, taking a cigarette and his lighter out of the pack. "I wish I could conjure things too." Jack said wishfully. "Like breakfast." He added. "Mmm...breakfast in bed. Dude, that would be awesome." Clark said, leaning back against the pillows once more, not wanting to get up just yet. He stuck the cigarette between his lips and flicked the lighter into action, setting it ablaze. "Clark..." Jack started, also leaning back against the mound of pillows. "...I'm curious, how do humans find purpose and meaning in their lives?" Clark laughed and coughed as smoke filled up his lungs. "That's an awfully deep and philosophical question to be asking this damn early in the morning." He observed, scratching an eyebrow with his thumb and tossing the rest of the pack to the foot of the bed. "I'm sorry. It's just that, I'm still trying to understand the human part of myself." Jack told him. Clark nodded and pulled the cancer stick from his mouth with his pointer and middle finger. "Me too, Jack. Me too. It takes a while to figure it out, and some people never do." Clark shrugged. "Most people find meaning in relationships and a purpose in something that they love to do." Clark elaborated. "Do you know what your purpose in life is?" Jack inquired. Clark sighed and sat himself up. Jack watched the weightless stream of smoke climb into the air. "Nope." He stated deftly. "Not yet. Honestly, I'm just trying to enjoy myself before I hit 18 and become an 'Independent Member of Society'." Clark said using air quotes. "You know...smoke a little pot, get drunk, party, blow jobs in the backseat of a car, that kinda stuff." Clark told him with a mischievous grin. Jack stayed silent, internalizing Clark's words.

"Don't think too hard." Clark advised as they sat at the dining room table. Jack was staring menacingly at a yellow #2 pencil that Clark had supplied. They had been at this for almost an hour. "This is frustrating." Jack growled and the light above them blew out with a loud pop and crackle. "You're getting too worked up." Clark told him, completely ignoring the busted light. "Close your eyes, Jack." Clark instructed. Jack did as he was told. "Now, take a deep breath in and let it out." Clark's voice was calm and it soothed Jack's nerves. He breathed in and then out, and felt his shoulders relax. "Now picture in your mind what you want the pencil to do." Jack kept his eyes closed and raised his hand over the object. He imagined the pencil lifting up off of the table towards his fingers. "Open your eyes angel boy." Clark said with a smile in his voice. Jack's eyes opened to see the pencil floating in a cloud of translucent golden light. He jumped up in excitement and the pencil dropped back onto the table and rolled off. "I did it! I finally did it! Sam will be so happy!" Jack exclaimed with a massive smile. "See, I knew you could do it! All you had to do was relax and envision it." Clark stated happily. Jack's smile reminded him of the first time they ate candy bars together. It covered his whole face and his eyes were lit up with glee. Adorable. "Next thing you know, you'll be doing it without even thinking." Clark told him.

Not long after that, Jack decided that it was time to go back to the bunker. He thanked Mrs.Barker for letting him stay over and then he thanked Clark for his help. "Don't be a stranger." Clark told him. Jack tilted his head and furrowed his brows. "...It means, like, keep in touch. Don't forget to call or visit every once in while." Clark clarified. "Oh. Of course." Jack replied. And just like that he vanished on the spot. Back in the bunker now, Jack called out, "I'm home." just to hear his words echo off of the barren walls. The silence of the empty structure crept under his skin and penetrated his heart. It felt...lonely. Jack sighed deeply. Now was as good a time as any to catch up on some lore.


	5. The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A refresher of the episode "Tombstone." with slight changes, then Jack goes over to Clark's house to ward it.

Jack sat at the war room table in the bunker, typing away on a laptop, when Sam and Dean returned. "How'd it go?" Jack asked aloud, not bothering to look up from the bright screen. "Well..." Dean responded. "Jack, um..." Sam started. Jack finally looked up at the hunters. "What's wrong?" Jack inquired with a puzzled look on his face. Both of the brother's looked over to a dark haired man in a trench coat as he walked in to join them. "Hello Jack." A deep voice greeted. "Castiel?" Jack asked, shocked."That's me." Cas answered fighting a grin. "It wasn't just a dream then?" Jack asked himself out loud, still looking like a deer caught in headlights. "Dream?" Sam inquired. "I...I had a dream, I mean, At least, I thought it was a dream...of Castiel returning to the bunker with you guys." Jack explained. "You caught a glimpse of the future." Castiel stated calmly. "That's...not surprising, considering the fact that you were powerful enough to wake me from my slumber in the empty." He added. Jack stood and walked over to wrap his father in a tight hug. Jack's heart felt so full now that Cas was really back, it felt like it might explode. "I missed you so much." Jack told Cas. Castiel clasped a hand on Jack's shoulder as he pulled away. "Thank you for bringing me home, Jack." At the word 'home' a slight smile spread across Dean's face. "Sam and Dean tell me you're doing well." Castiel remarked. "I am." Jack confirmed. "Watch this." He told Cas, turning back to the table and raising his hand over a pencil laying there. He used his powers to raise it in a soft golden light. Jack smiled smugly with pride. "I can move the pencil." He looked at Sam to gauge his reaction. Sam looked impressed. "Clark helped me learn how to do it." He beamed. "Clark? He came here?" Sam asked in disbelief. "No. No, I teleported to North Cove." Jack replied. "You teleported? While we were gone?" Sam asked incredulously. "Yes." Jack answered simply. "Jack, I added extra warding to the bunker to keep you safe. That was dangerous leaving here without me or Dean." Sam scolded. "I was fine," Jack stated. "Besides, I don't think that I can be killed." He added. "There are worse things than being killed." Dean piped up. "You could have gotten Clark and his mom killed, or you could have been captured and tortured." Sam elaborated, almost talking over his brother. Jack opened his mouth to speak but then closed it. He looked down at the floor and furrowed his eyebrows in angry thought. He didn't like Sam's harsh tone but he also didn't like the fact that he could have put Clark in danger. "I'm sorry." He apologized. "Just don't do it again, okay?" Sam said gently. Jack nodded. "I also found a case. A hunter's case." Jack told them, redirecting his attention to the laptop on the table. "What kind of..." Dean started to ask. "Zombies!" 

Only five hours later they were pulling into the Stampede Motel and RV Park. After checking in, the gang headed down a hallway in search for their room. "Alright! This is 'possed to be the best room in the joint." Dean stated happily. He unlocked the door, pushed it open, and flipped on the light. "Oooh...the Wild Bill suite!" Dean announced enthusiastically, smile growing bigger with every step into the common room. "Wow." Sam commented flatly, bewildered by his brother's love of the wild west. "Pretty cool, right? Dude, check it out! Check it out!" Dean exclaimed. He pointed to the portraits of cowboys hanging on the wall and gave the trio next to him a quick history lesson about the men in the photos. Jack had never seen Dean so happy. "He really likes cowboys." Jack observed as Dean was rattling off names of all the outlaws. "Yes. Yes, he does." Castiel responded flatly. Dean laid out his plan for the rest of the day and then he wondered into the bedroom. "You can have the couch," Jack told Castiel. "I don't sleep much." "Oh. I don't sleep at all." Castiel informed the nephilim. The rest of the day flew by in a blur. 

Once Sam and Dean had gone to sleep, Jack was finally able to have a conversation with Castiel, without fear of being interrupted. They sat at the table in the common room and Jack told Castiel about what he had missed. "...And then there were these angels, and they tried to kill me, but...I thought angels were good?" Jack said. "Well, in heaven, good is a relative term." Castiel informed him. "What's it like, heaven?" Jack asked, his voice full of hope and wonder. "Uh, that depends..." Castiel sighed. "But it's nice?" Jack pressed. "Can be." Cas nodded with a small smile. "That's good," Jack said. "My mother's in heaven." "Yeah, I know she is. Kelly was, she was a very brave woman." Cas told him. "She left me a message. She said I had an angel watching over me." Jack said solemnly. Cas took in a big breath and dropped his shoulders on the exhale. "Oh Jack, I'm so sorry, I...I should have been here for you." "No. It's okay. It's just..." Jack started, his brows furrowed in thought. "...I understand why she trusted you. Why I trusted you." Cas smiled and there was a moment of pause. "You remember that?" Cas asked him. "I remember feeling safe." Jack replied. "Jack, your mother, she believed that you would do amazing things. She said that you would change the world for the better. And now, looking at you...talking to you...I know that she was right. That we were right. Kelly would be so proud of you." Castiel encouraged. Before Jack could respond there was a beep emanating from the laptop in front of him. "Oh wow. I'll go tell them." Jack said, sliding the computer over to Cas and rushing off. "Jack. Jack!" Cas called after him, but the nephilim was already halfway through the bedroom to wake up the hunters. "Dean. Dean." Jack called as he poked the hunter's exposed bicep. "Jack! I wouldn't do that..." Cas cautioned as he followed into the room. "Hiya!" Dean shouted, raising the gun he slept with at the boy. "No! No! No! No! Dean. It's me! It's me." Jack told him, hands raised up in defense. Dean looked over to Cas and then back at Jack. "Ah. Hey." He greeted. Sam had woken up from the ruckus and watched in confusion. "Who's making me coffee?" Dean said, lowering the gun and laying back down until the coffee was made.

When the coffee was ready, Dean stumbled out of the room and poured himself a full cup. He wiped the sleep from his eyes as he made his way over to plop down on the couch. Castiel was now sitting back at the table with Jack. He leaned forward as he spoke to the nephilim. "I told you. He's an angry sleeper. Like a bear." Cas said, the pun completely being lost on him. "Clark is not an angry sleeper at all." Jack stated. Dean almost spit out his coffee. "What?" Sam asked him, shocked at the statement. "Clark. He's a much nicer sleeper." Jack said, confused as to why everyone was staring at him. "How...do you know that?" Sam questioned. "Who's Clark?" Castiel asked. "Clark is the boy that I met when I was searching for you. The sheriff's son." Jack clarified. "The angel that tried to kill me, she stabbed Clark in the abdomen. Sam and I went to go check on him last week and then I visited him again when Sam and Dean were away on a hunt." He explained. "And, how do you know about his sleeping habits?" Castiel reiterated. "I spent the night at his house." Jack said, but this didn't seem to make anyone feel better. "Did you sleep with him?" Sam had officially been stunned wide awake. "Yes. Is...is that a bad thing?" Jack asked, so thoroughly confused by everyone's reactions. This time Dean did spit out his coffee. "You had sex with Clark?" Dean asked, also stunned awake now. "Sex? No. I...we fell asleep watching movies. Why do you think that I had sex with him?" There was a collaborative sigh from all three men and then exasperated laughter filled the room. "Sleeping with someone, is a phrase, Jack. A gentle way to say that you had sex with someone." Sam informed him. "How do you even know what sex is...Nope. Nope, I don't want to know." Sam backtracked. "Good call, neither do I." Dean agreed. "Okay, so a code three means..." Sam started, returning everyone's attention back to the case.

The next day, Sam, Dean, Cas, and Jack stood outside of a bank that was being robbed by the ghoul they were hunting. "Dave Mather's." Dean called out the name of the meat suit the ghoul was wearing. "Robbing a bank is a bold move." Dean added, holding up a shotgun at the monster. "You must be the hunter." The ghoul said, unphased by his presence. "And you must like to play cowboy." Dean quipped. "It's my favorite suit. You know, I like to keep an old piece of Dave on me just to gnaw on." The ghoul stated. Another gun clicking made 'Dave' look over to where the rest of the group was standing. "Let's make it two, three, four hunters, whoo! Must be my birthday!" The monster laughed. "Look, why don't you come with us someplace else? We can do this quick and quiet." Sam offered. The ghoul looked between Dean and the trio. When he realized he'd been backed into a corner, he drew his gun and started shooting. The hunter's fired back and scattered to safety behind some parked cars. When the shots stopped firing, the security guard from the bank stepped outside to face the robber. At the same time, Jack walked towards the monster, against Castiel's advice, shooting out a sonic wave of power towards them. It blasted both the ghoul and the guard backwards. 'Dave' was knocked back onto the sidewalk, where he proceeded to get up and run off. The security guard was not as lucky, however. He had been shoved into a concrete pillar with a concerning amount of force. "No!" Jack shouted. He didn't intend to harm anyone innocent. "No, no, no." Sam breathed out. While Dean ran after the ghoul, the rest of the hunter's rushed to the guards side. Blood pooled into a dark crimson puddle under the man's head. "I, I didn't mean to. Castiel, you have to heal him." Jack said. Cas knelt beside the guard and put his fingers to the guys forehead. But it was too late. Cas stood and faced the nephilim. "I can't." He told the boy. "Why not?" Jack asked in a whisper. Sam felt the guys neck for a pulse. "He's dead." 

Sam and Cas drove Jack back to the bunker while Dean stayed behind to finish the job. The impala was filled with awkward silence for the first hour. Finally, Sam spoke. "Jack, you, uh, you okay?" Sam asked. It was kind of a stupid question but he didn't really know what else to say. "Jack. I've killed people, who didn't deserve it. My friends, I...I've killed people that I loved. I wish I could tell you that it, it gets easier...and with time it hurts less, but that would be a lie. Cause it never gets easier and those moments, they never stop hurting. But that doesn't mean that you should stop fighting. It doesn't mean that just because you made a mistake...that's what this is, Jack, you made a mistake." Castiel said gently. Jack closed his eyes. "That doesn't mean that you can't, can't be better, do better. I believe that, I have to believe that." Castiel finished. "We still believe in you, Jack. We, uh..." Sam reiterated. "Stop. Just...please stop." Jack spat out slowly. He didn't want to be lectured right now. The rest of the drive seemed to take forever, but finally they made it back to the bunker. Jack was just glad that the hunt had been so close. 

When Dean arrived back to the bunker, Jack was sitting in the library, pretending to read. In reality, he was too deeply buried in his thoughts to even see the words on the pages in front of him. Sam and Cas were sitting at the war room table, books and computers strewn about. The bunker door creaked shut behind the older Winchester and he walked heavy footed down the metal staircase. "Hey!" Sam greeted his brother. "Hey." Dean sighed, when he reached the ground floor. "How'd it go?" Sam inquired. "The usual. Kill the bad guy, save the girl." Dean answered. "What about thee, uh..." Sam's eyes pointed to Jack. "Took care of it." Dean replied flatly. "Good." Sam nodded. "Good?" Jack questioned. Everyone's attention snapped back to the nephilim. "How is that good?" Jack stood from his seat and walked towards the trio. "I killed someone. What was his name? The guard? Did he have a family?" Jack asked, standing in front of the war room table now. "Jack, don't do this to yourself." Cas advised. "No, did he?" Jack repeated. Cas looked down at the table and the room grew quite. "Yes he did." Dean answered solemnly, looking Jack in the eyes. Jack held his gaze for several seconds before looking down at the floor. "Jack, look...this life, what we do, it's...it's not easy. And we've all done things we regret..." Sam said, gesturing to the other two men in the room. "Just don't." Jack snapped at the giant, and Sam stopped talking. Jack looked at each of the men in front of him, despair growing in his eyes. "You're afraid of me." Jack realized. "Jack, no." Castiel told him. The nephilim turned his back to his guardians. "You know, maybe you're right..." The hunters looked at each other in concern, but not daring to move. "...maybe I'm just another monster." Jack said, turning back around to face them. "No, you're not. I thought you were, I did." Dean stated, walking around the table towards Jack. "But...like Sam said, we've all done bad. We all have blood on our hands. So if you're a monster, than we're all monsters." "No, you don't...every time I try and do something good, people get hurt. I thought I was getting better...I'm not. I don't know what I am. But I know I can't make the world a better place. Not like this. I can't even do one good thing. And I know that if I stay, I'm gonna hurt you. All of you. And...I can't. You're all I have." Jack told them. "Jack, listen..." Sam started, afraid of what Jack was really trying to say. "I have to go." Jack cut him off. "No Jack." Castiel ordered gently. "I'm sorry." He told them, raising up a hand and sending a shock wave of power through the war room. The men were thrown back. "I'm so sorry." Jack repeated before he teleported out of the bunker.

Jack meant to land in front of the Barker's house, but he was rattled from the recent events, and so he ended up inside of the house instead. Christine and Clark had been watching T.V., but the sight of Jack suddenly appearing in the living room caused the Sheriff to jump up off the couch, and for Clark to yell out "Holy shit!" "Jack!" Christine shouted, covering her heart with her hand. "You gave us quite a start." She let out a shaky breath. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to...I just...I came here to say goodbye. And to ward you for protection." Jack told them. "Goodbye?" Clark questioned with a wounded look on his face. "I'm sorry Clark, but I...no matter what I do, I keep hurting people and I can't, I won't hurt you, or your mother." Jack explained. He faced the front door and closed his eyes. With both hands raised, he produced soft golden rings of light that rippled across the walls of the house, sinking in and burning bright blue warding sigils into them. Clark and his mom stood still, watching him in awe. When the lights faded, the sigils appeared to as well, but they were still there, visible now only to supernatural beings. "What did you just do?" Mrs.Barker asked. "I warded the house so that nothing evil could locate you here. But I also need to ward both of you." Jack told them. "Jack...you don't...I don't want you to say goodbye." Clark protested. However, Jack quickly crossed the room and laid a hand on Clark's chest. Clark felt a burning in his ribs and he hissed at the pain. Jack refused to respond to the other boys pleas, afraid that he might give in. So instead he stepped over to Christine and laid a hand over her sternum as well, repeating the warding process. "You will both be safe now." Jack assured them, though his voice wavered with emotion. Clark attempted to reach for him and Jack knew that he couldn't stay even one more second, and so he left without actually saying goodbye after all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was a sad chapter. *Sigh.* And with Jack about to enter the apocalypse world, it'll probably be a little while before they see each other again.


	6. Reflections

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jack uses his time away to reflect on his short life thus far, and plan his next move. SHORT CHAPTER.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the delay on this chapter. I had writer's block for a while and then my husband came home from his deployment. From now on I'm hoping to post a new chapter at least once a week.
> 
> For this chapter each section of is a different POV. Set at the beginning of 13x08.

Jack sat alone on a creek bed in the middle of the day, watching the water trickle idly by. He dug his fingers into the soft earth underneath of him and then rubbed his thumb over his fingers to feel the gritty mixture of dirt and sand. The sound of the stream, the smell of the trees, and the feel of the cool crisp air on his skin, all helped Jack to feel calm. It did not, however, ease the feeling of despair that sat heavy in his stomach. He had killed someone. Jack was just trying to be the hero, but instead he became the villain. That seemed to be a common re-occurrence in Jack's short life thus far. Almost all of his good intentions had ended in peril. On his first day on earth, Jack had accidentally hurt Sheriff Barker by throwing her backwards into a vending machine, and then Clark got stabbed by an angel that was looking for him. On his fourth day, he was deceived by Asmodeus and almost unleashed terrible monsters from the deepest pits of hell. Then, when Jack tried to help on a hunt, he accidentally killed a security guard at a bank and the ghoul ended up getting away. Dean had told Jack that he was a monster and that he couldn't be saved. Maybe he was right. Maybe Jack couldn't be good because of who his biological father was. But Jack was half human too. His mother's influence was good and pure, but she was dead because of him. Still, he had managed to do some good things so far. He healed Clark, brought Castiel back from the empty, and saved Sam from the bad shapeshifter. Jack sighed. He reached out his hand and put it into the stream. The moving water slowly washed away the dirt until it was all gone. Then Jack brought his hand back out of the water and carefully inspected it. He wondered if he too could be washed clean. 'Maybe I could do something so good, that it would balance out all the bad I've done.' Jack thought. 'But what?”

**************************

Clark sat in a classroom, too lost in his thoughts to hear what his teacher was saying. He absentmindedly doodled in his notebook as he thought about the last time he saw Jack. He had seemed so...frantic. What had happened that made Jack believe that he might hurt him or his mom? And what exactly did Jack do to them? Clark rubbed a hand over his ribs, remembering the burn he felt when Jack touched him there. He wanted to be mad at the nephilim for bursting in and ripping out his heart with a goodbye, but instead he felt uneasy. Something had really shaken Jack. The school bell sounded and pulled Clark from his thoughts. In one quick motion he gathered all of his belongings and headed out of the room. The raven haired boy then proceeded to make his way through a sea of students to his locker. Once there, he deposited his stuff into his backpack and then slung it over his shoulder. Clark couldn’t sit through another class and so he walked down the hall and out to the school parking lot, where his car sat waiting for him. He tossed his backpack into the passenger seat, grabbed his cell phone from it, and then scrolled through his contact list. When he found the name “Hunters” he pressed it and listened to the phone ring as he pulled out of the parking lot. “Hello?” A voice answered. “Hi. Sam?” The sheriffs son asked. “Yeah. Who’s this?” Sam replied. “It’s Clark. I...is Jack there with you?” He asked hopefully. “No. Why do you ask?” Sam questioned. “He, uh...” Clark started. He brought a hand up to scratch behind his ear. A nervous habit of his. “...he came by my house a while back and warded me and my mom. Said that he didn’t want to hurt us and then he said goodbye. Like, for good. And I’m worried about him.” Clark confessed. Sam sighed deeply. “I’m sorry Clark, I guess I should have called you when Jack went AWOL. See, he was on a hunt with us and when he tried to help...a man got in the way and he got killed.” Sam explained. “Jack killed someone?” Clark asked, shocked. “It was an accident, but yeah.” A couple of seconds passed in silence. “Do you know where he is?” Clark inquired as he subconsciously gripped the steering wheel tighter, concern rising in his chest. “No. We...he doesn’t want to be found.” Sam told the boy. Clark bit his lower lip in thought. “Okay. Well, I’m on my way to grab a few things from my house, and then I’m going to come over and help you find Jack. He shouldn’t be alone right now.” Clark stated. “Clark...no. You don’t need to...” Sam protested. But Clark wasn’t asking. “I’ll call you when I get to Lebanon and then you can give me directions to the bunker.” With that Clark hung up and threw his phone onto the passenger seat with his bag. Thank God his mom was at work because he knew that she would try to talk him out of going. 

****************************

Sam sighed and flipped his phone closed before placing it back into his pocket. He contemplated calling Sheriff Barker, but decided against it. Clark was almost eighteen now and it sounded like he had his mind made up. Instead, Sam headed down the hallway to Dean’s room and saw that the door was open. He walked in to find Dean cleaning his gun. “I think she’s clean.” The younger Winchester commented. “Anything on Ketch?” Dean asked, ignoring his brothers statement. “No. Checked every hospital within a fifty mile radius. Nada.” Sam informed him. Dean sighed. “Crazy son of a bitch probably pulled the bullet out with his teeth.” He huffed, “What about Jack?” Sam ran a hand a hand through his long locks. “Talked to Cas, he’s got nothing. Looks like...either we’ve gotta find something in the lore or wait for Jack to make a mistake.” He said, exasperated. "Yeah, well, mistakes are what I'm worried about." Dean said bitterly. “Speaking of Jack, Clark just called me. Said Jack went over to his house after he left here to tell him goodbye. And then, get this, Clark volunteered to come down to the bunker and help us look for him.” Sam informed his brother. Dean snickered at that. “Yeah, well, he may have good intentions but getting involved is a bad idea. I'll take it you let him down gently?” The older Winchester presumed. “I tried, but, he was dead set on it. He’s already on his way from Washington. Should take him two or three days to get here.” His little brother replied as he took a seat across the table from him. Dean set his gun down and raised his hands in defeat. “Great, just what we need.” He said sarcastically."Another liability." Dean's phone started ringing, so he answered it and put it on speaker. "Yeah." Dean greeted. "Dean Winchester." Said the man on the other line. "Who's this?" Dean asked. "I have something that you might be interested in." The guy replied. "Nah, we're happy with our cable provider, thank you." Dean quipped. "What about your nephilim?" The man remarked. That caught Dean's attention. His head snapped up and Sam shot a questioning glance at the phone. "Word on the street is that he's gone rogue." The man continued. "Yeah? What street is that?" Dean asked. "Hell Street. Hell Avenue. Just Hell, really." The guy answered. Sam raised his pointer finger at Dean. "Demon." He mouthed to his brother. Dean shot him a look to say "Duh." "What if I told you I had a way to find your boy? Meet me at smile diner at 12:45." The demon instructed. The line went dead and Dean looked up at Sam. "What about Clark?" The taller man asked. "If we're gone when he gets here, that's his problem." Dean said. He was just happy that they wouldn't have to bring the boy along to meet up with this demon, because more than likely, it was a trap.


	7. Not All Heros Have Super Powers

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Clark arrives in Lebanon.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Clark's prayer to Jack is between slashes in order to separate what was happening with each boy simultaneously. I hope that makes sense and also makes it easier to read. Let me know if I should change it.

Clark arrived in Lebanon after driving for two days, stopping only once to text his mom and to sleep for a few hours. Now that he was here, he would have to wait for Sam and Dean to get back from the hunt they were on. Normally, Clark would hit up the town, but there wasn't much of a town here. There wasn't much of anything at all. The only "attraction" in this one horse town was a monument located at the center of the United States. So, Clark just traveled around the well worn roads until he came across a big brick building, sticking out like a sore thumb. The sign in front read 'Lebanon United Methodist Church'. "Why the fuck not?" Clark shrugged. He had a lot of time to kill. The raven haired teen pulled into the parking lot and then walked up to the big wooden doors. It was the middle of the week, but the doors weren't locked, and so Clark entered the place of worship. He took in the view of the interior, and noted that it was an impressive size for such a small town. It had a triangular ceiling held by sturdy wooden beams, old cylindrical lights hanging down above the pews, and a massive window that illuminated the alter sitting in front of it. 'Super old-fashioned' is the way Clark described it in his thoughts. He meandered down the aisle, holding an arm out to allow his hand to touch over the corners of the pews. The church was empty and eerily quiet except for the noises of Clark's movements. "Hello?" The boy called out, mostly just to break the silence. However, to his surprise, an older gentleman popped out from a doorway near the altar. 

"Can I help you, son?" He drawled. "Oh. Shit. Sorry, I didn't think anyone was actually here." Clark said, now frozen in place at a pew in the third row. The man scrunched his face at the use of profanity. "Yes, well, I was just in my office writing a sermon for this weekend." The man explained, "Is there a reason for your visit today?" He pressed. Clark placed a hand on the back of his neck and rubbed it, he felt kinda stupid for disrupting the pastor. "I, uh, came here to...pray." The teen told him. "For a friend. Jack. He's missing." Not completely untrue. "Oh. I see. I'm very sorry to hear that. Would you like me to say a prayer with you?" The gentleman offered. Clark shook his head no and then sat down in the pew he had been standing next to. The pastor nodded politely and then turned back towards the doorway. "Hey, is God the only one you can pray to?" Clark asked. The older man snapped back around with his brows furrowed in confusion. "I just mean...can angels hear prayers too?" Clark clarified. The pastors shoulders relaxed and he let out a sigh. "Yes. Angels can hear, and answer, prayers." Clark grinned in response. Jack was only half angel, but more powerful than any other. Surely, he could hear prayers too then. The pastor turned again and shuffled back into his office. Now alone again, Clark bowed his head and began to silently pray to the nephilim. 

Jack was in Bismarck, North Dakota bidding his time until his scheduled meeting with the dream walker, Derrick. He was sitting in a grassy field, admiring a bridge over the Missouri River when he heard Clark's voice in his head. It didn't hurt him like angel radio did. /'Jack. Can you hear me, angel boy? It's Clark.' The teenager began./ Jack's heart ached at the sound of the dark haired rebel's voice. He hadn't realized just how much he missed him. /Clark wasn't sure what kind of answer he was expecting, so after waiting for a few seconds, he continued. 'I, uh...I mean We, have been looking for you, buddy. We're worried about you. I heard what happened, Jack'/ The nephilim bit down on his bottom lip. /'Listen, you're just starting out and you're going to make mistakes. It's how you learn. I make them all the time. It's just that...you know, with you...you're mistakes cost more than mine do.'/ Tears welled in Jack's eyes. He was tired of being told that the guards death was just a mistake. He knew that, but it was still a tragedy. /'And it's not fair, Jack. It really isn't. You haven't been able to just be a stupid teenage boy and spend time learning about yourself and the world. Instead of going to high school, hanging out with friends, and making out with a cute classmate, you're fighting monsters and learning how to use your powers.' Clark shook his head. He felt so frustrated for the poor boy./ Jack felt his heart strings being tugged towards the sheriff's son. But he couldn't follow. He needed to stay in Bismarck so that he could find Mary. /'Anyways...I just want you to know that, yes, it was unfortunate that somebody died, and that's not exactly some little thing, but you can't hold that against yourself, Jack. The best thing you can do now is to keep trying and to learn from the mistakes you've made, and will make. It's a part of being human.' Clark raised his head and opened his eyes. His shoulders slumped when he saw that the church was still empty./ Jack smiled, he was grateful for Clark's words. He had acknowledged the fact that the guards death was a bigger deal than his guardians wanted him to believe. He also told Jack that he should keep trying. "I am trying." He said to the sky, though he knew the other boy couldn't hear him. /Clark rose from the pew and sulked out of the church./

The next evening, Clark got a call from Sam. The Winchester gave him directions to the bunker and told him to be there at 20:00 hours sharp. Since Clark had nothing better to do, he drove over and then sat in his car for the next few hours, waiting for the brothers to show up. Sure enough, at eight o'clock the Impala pulled up in front of the abandoned looking place. Clark got out of his car and grabbed a duffel bag full of clothes from the back seat. "Sam. Dean." Clark called out as he walked over to the hunters. "Hey Clark." Sam greeted with a nod. Dean just stared angrily at the boy. "I'm glad you made it here safely." The taller Winchester offered when he saw that Dean wasn't going to say anything. "Thanks, I guess. I mean, I wouldn't be much help to you if I couldn't handle a little cross country road trip." Clark laughed. Dean's expression softened slightly, but something was obviously bothering him. 

"Dude. Got something to say?" Clark questioned the older man. "Yeah. I don't like this." Dean declared, wagging his finger between them. "This is not some fairy tale, 'Dude'." Dean said, making quotes with his fingers. "Jack is not some damsel in distress. Finding him is going to be dangerous and you should leave it to the professionals." Clark inhaled deeply and balled his fists. "No need to get all pissy because of your insecurities. Don' act like you know me, because you don't. Jack is my friend. He's in trouble and I am going to find him. With or without your help." Clark spat. "Hey, hey, guys. Come on, let's take in down a notch." Sam refereed as he stood between the two. "Clark is Jack's best friend and that, in turn, means that we should teach him about the things that are out there." He looked at Dean as he spoke, then switched his gaze to the teenager. "But if you are going to learn how to hunt, then you need to remember that you are in training. So, you're not going to go into anything locked and loaded. You'll observe while Dean and I handle things." Clark dropped his shoulders and unclenched his jaw. "Yeah. Okay." He agreed. "Fine." Dean huffed.

"Wow. This is insane!" Clark commented when he entered the bunker. "It's an old Men of Letters bunker. They were a group of individuals that hunted monsters, kept records of everything, and collected weapons." Sam simplified. "Cool." the sheriffs son remarked as he followed the brother's down the metal staircase. "This is the war room." Dean stated when he reached the bottom. "Over there is the kitchen, the library is in there, and the rooms are that way and down the hall to the left" The shorter brother rambled off, pointing in different directions as he spoke. "Don't touch shit if you don't know what it is. A lot of things in here can kill you." Clark raised his eyebrows and nodded. "Look kid, it's not just angels and demons, okay? It's ghosts, and vampires, werewolves, and ghouls, djinn, reapers, shape shifters, and on, and on, and on." Dean told him sternly. Clark just nodded in response, with an unreadable expression on his face. "You'll learn about all of that stuff in time." Sam assured. "Are you hungry?" "Starving." Clark responded. "Follow me, we'll get you something to eat and then set you up with a room." Sam told him.


	8. A Tour of the Bunker

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sam shows Clark around the Men of Letter's Bunker.

The next morning when Clark awoke, it took him several seconds of confusion to remember where he was. The barren walls that surrounded him and the firm mattress he was laying on felt very foreign. 'I wonder if Jack's room is this bare.' Clark looked over to the tiny dresser standing against the wall (the only piece of furniture, other than the bed.) and he observed the alarm clock sitting on top of it. The bright red numbers read 6:17am. 'Wonder if anyone else is awake.' He thought groggily as he slowly sat up and then swung his legs over the side of the bed. Clark's feet hit the floor briefly before recoiling at the icy chill of the concrete. "Well, fuck." He cursed before quickly dashing over to the dresser in order to grab a thick pair of socks. He scattered back to the warm bed and proceeded to cover his feet with the fabric. A relieved sigh escaped him and he ran a hand through his unwashed hair. 

Sam stood in the kitchen and wondered if he should wake the boy. It was a fleeting thought, as he figured that teenagers tended to sleep well into the day and Clark had just traveled quite a distance to get to the bunker. So instead, Sam just added a few scoops of coffee grounds to the coffee machine and pressed a button. It sputtered into life and went to work making the fuel necessary for the Winchester's to function. Next, Sam walked over to the fridge and grabbed a package of bacon as well as a carton of eggs to fry up for the trio. He heated up a cast iron skillet and just as the first piece of raw bacon hit the hot pan, Dean dredged around the corner and into the kitchen. Sam smirked at the coincidence of the timing. "Mornin'!" He greeted his brother. "Yep. It's definitely morning." Dean replied sarcastically, though his voice was rough with sleep. He cleared his throat and rubbed a hand over his scruffy face. "I told Clark that I'd show him around the bunker today." Sam threw out casually. The comment hung in the air for a few moments while Dean moseyed over to the coffee pot and watched it fill slowly. "Hmh." Dean huffed unintelligibly. He wasn't thrilled about Clark's arrival. "Come on..." He hurried the machine. Dean reached up to open a cabinet but his robe came untied as his arms raised upward. He proceeded to grab a coffee mug and set it on the counter before re-tying the belt. Sam flipped the bacon he was cooking and the sounds of sizzling intensified.

When Clark finally roamed into the kitchen, Dean was busy sipping on a cup of coffee and Sam was munching on something green. "Bacon. Nice." Clark commented. He ventured over to the counter and grabbed a slice of bacon straight off of the plate it was accumulated on. He leaned against the countertop as he ate it, and Dean exchanged a look with Sam. "Gonna grab a plate?" Dean asked. Clark shrugged and received a scowl from the older Winchester in return. "Yeah. Have fun giving Beiber, here, a run down of the bunker. I'll be in my man cave." Dean informed his brother before standing and exiting the room. "Does he even know who Justin Beiber is?" Clark asked, pointing a slice of bacon in the direction Dean went. Sam sighed. "You should eat some eggs too, you'll need your protein if you want to keep up with us later." Clark grinned. "Worried I won't make it up and down the stairs?" He laughed. "No. But with the kind of work Dean and I do, we're on call 24/7. And if we get a call, you're coming with. I'm not comfortable leaving you here in the bunker by yourself just yet." Sam stated. 'Jeez.' Clark thought. But he grabbed a plate and put some bacon and scrambled eggs on it, then sat by the taller Winchester. "So...what other kind of rooms are in this 'Hunter's Lair'?" Clark said through a mouthful of food. Sam raised an eyebrow but decided not to comment on his table manners. "I'll show you the you the firing range first. Have you ever shot a gun before?" Sam inquired. "There's a legit firing range inside of this place? That's wicked!" Clark exclaimed. "And yeah, I can shoot. My mom taught me how to use her glock in case of emergencies." Sam nodded. "Good." 

The duo spent some time shooting at paper targets, but Clark's aim turn out to actually be pretty decent. So a short while later, Sam showed him around the infirmary. They went over the basics of first aid and to Sam's surprise, Clark knew a lot about that as well. "Did your mom teach you first aid?" Sam inquired. The boy nodded. "I'm even certified to administer CPR." He confirmed, "See, not totally useless." "No one said that you were." Sam remarked. "Dean thinks I am. He thinks that I'll just get in the way." Clark stated. "Hey, You guys don't keep bodies in here, do you?" He inquired when he saw the morgue, effectively changing the subject. Sam just smirked and opened one of the doors to a refrigerated compartment to show what Dean kept inside. "Whoa. That is lit." Do you guys have parties in here or something?" Clark asked when he saw the beer that was stockpiled in the dead guy compartment. Sam chuckled. "Nope. Dean just likes beer." Sam explained. "Cool." Clark replied before grabbing two long neck bottles. He handed one to Sam and twisted the cap on the other. "Hey. How old do you think you are?" Sam requisitioned. "Seventeen. Tell me you didn't drink when you were a teenager." Clark challenged before taking a swig. "Does your mom know that you drink?" Sam questioned. "My mom probably wouldn't want to know about half of the shit that I do. She is the sheriff after all." The teen replied with a mischievous grin. "Well, I don't care if you have a few beers, but you'll need to go outside to smoke." Sam told him before finally twisting the lid off of his own beer. He took a gulp and then shook his head. He was gathering that Clark was going to be quite the handful. 

Sam showed Clark the archives, dungeon, and gym. After the little tour was concluded, the guys rallied back to the library, where Sam proceeded to drop a massive stack of books in front of Clark. The boy raised an eyebrow at the Winchester. "Dude. You don't really expect me to read all of these, do you?" Sam gave him a stern look. "Being a hunter isn't just fighting monsters and saving people. It's also research." Sam tapped the stack of books with his hand. "And long hours, and bruises and broken bones, and giving up the life you knew before...you do understand that, don't you?" Clark swallowed thickly. "Yeah, I get it. It's like a job. I have to work." He brought a hand up to scratch lightly behind his ear and then he sighed at the plethora of books on the table in front of him. "No, it's not a job. It's a lifestyle. You eat, sleep, and breathe this stuff. You don't get to have friends or even family unless they're also hunters. And the ones who are hunters, you pray that you won't have to watch them die bloody. If you're really going to do this and help us find Jack, then you have to cut ties with everyone else, including your mom. So now, I'm going to ask you just this once, are you in or are you out? Because there is no in between." Sam explained harshly. He needed Clark to understand what being a hunter was going to cost him. "Oh." Clark replied quietly. That was a lot to ask. He didn't want his mother to feel abandoned, but he also didn't want to put her in harm's way. Clark was almost eighteen now, and it was time he decided on the type of life he was going to lead. Surely his mom would understand, right? If ever there was a life worth living, it would be this one, wouldn't it? Saving lives and killing evil sons of bitches. Fighting along side Jack and his family. Yes, this is the life he wanted. "Okay. I'm in, all the way." Clark answered. "So, what are we researching?" He asked. "Angel lore, specifically a way to summon a nephilim." 


	9. A Lead on Jack

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Follows 13x09. The boys follow a lead on Jack.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Guys, I put Pandora on while I was editing, (Soft Rock Radio.) and the first song that played was "Runaway" by Bon Jovi. Hahaha.

"Any news on Cas?" Dean asks as he sits across the table from Sam and Clark. "Yeah. He's says he's still looking for Jack. Working a lead in Tuscon." Sam replied over the laptop he was occupied with. Dean's cell phone rang and the name Jody Mills popped up the screen. He showed it to Sam, who hummed curiously. "Who's Jody?" Clark whispered to Sam while Dean answered the call. "She's a sheriff...and hunter, in North Dakota." Sam explained in a hushed tone. "Hey Jody! What's going on?" Dean greeted before putting her on speaker and setting the phone down on the war room table. "Hey boys! Got something for ya. A friend of mine from Bismarck PD called with a lead. He said that a local artist was found dead, with his eyes burned out." Jody informed them. Dean exchanged a knowing glance with his brother. "Sounds angel-y" Dean replied. "Yeah, that's what I thought. Except for, there was a witness. The victims girlfriend. She pegged someone at the scene. She gave the police a description, I think it's your boy." The sheriff stated as she compared a picture of Jack to the police sketch on her computer. Sam and Dean shared solemn expressions, but Clark lit up in excitement, "Jack's in North Dakota!" There was a few moments of silence before Jody spoke again. "Who is that?" "Ah, he's a hunter in training. Jack's friend, Clark." Sam informed her. "Oh, okay. Well, be safe boys. Something seems a bit off about this." The sheriff input. "Will do, Jody. Thanks for the in tell." Sam said. Dean hit the end call button and Clark rocketed up and out of his chair. "What are you waiting for? Let's go get Jack!" He shouted as he rushed off to his room to pack a bag. Sam snickered at the boy's enthusiasm. 

Ten and a half hours later, the trio arrived at the art studio in Bismarck, to speak with the victims girlfriend. "That's him. Said his name is Jack. That he was a buyer." The woman confirmed after Sam had supplied a photo. "A...buyer?" Sam inquired. The lady pointed towards one of the many stacks of Derrick's artwork. "Ah." Sam nodded. "Some freaky stuff here, Derrick had quite the imagination." Dean commented. "He hated that word, imagination. He liked to think of his art as more of...reportage." She said. "Reportage?" Clark asked, raising an eyebrow in question. "Reportage from where?" He mused. "From the places he'd visit. Derrick was a dream walker." She explained to the trio. "Sam." Dean called when his eyes landed on a painting of a familiar place. Sam turned to follow Dean's gaze and he swallowed roughly when he saw the apocalypse world painted on a massive canvas. 

"Am I missing something?" Clark asked when they were all back in the Impala. "When Jack was born, it created a rift between worlds." Sam explained as Dean began to drive. "Specifically this world and an apocalyptic one. Our mother, Mary, and Jack's biological father, Lucifer, are both stuck in that other reality." Sam stated. Dean looked over at his brother with an angry scowl. "Lucifer killed mom as soon as they disappeared into the rift, Sam. There's no way that she's still alive. Which means...It looks like Jack is giving up on us and he's looking for daddy." The older Winchester assumed. "Dean, we don't know that..." Sam countered. "Don't we? A guy is dead. I don't like this either, but we gotta be prepared." Dean interjected. "To kill him." Sam finished. "Kill him? Why would you...how can you even...?" Clark stammered. "Look, this isn't an 'I told you so'. Hell, I like the kid. I do, but...I mean, we're in worse case scenario land, here." The older Winchester stressed to Sam, ignoring Clark's baffled commentary in the backseat. "Dean, we need more information." Sam concluded. "Yes. More information." Clark echoed the taller Winchester. "First of all. Shut it." Dean scolded the dark haired teen. He attempted to say something else but his brother interrupted. "Look, Dean, we've gotta figure out what Jack wanted. How dream walking even works." Sam interjected. Dean sat in silence for a moment, processing. "Okay. Yeah. Then, what? We go to a reservation and...and let's talk to a chief, or, uh, tribal leader." Dean offered. "Or...we talk to a dream walker." Sam added as he waved his iPad towards his brother. "I hacked into Derrick's email, and he's been corresponding with another dream walker. A girl, named Kaia. He even tried to teach her to control her powers." Sam informed. "Alright. Good. So, where is she?" Clark asked.

The Impala pulled into a rehab center that Kaia was listed as a patient at. The boys stepped out of the vehicle and then Sam ran them through the girl's bio. "Kaia never knew her father. Her mother died in an accident when she was was twelve, so her aunt took her in and then she died. Cancer." "Damn." Clark responded. "Yeah. Been on her own ever since. Until her OD and arrest, that is." Sam finished. "Bad hand. No wonder she ended up here." Dean commented. The trio made their way into the facility and were told by the staff that Kaia would be in the common area. However, on the way there, Sam caught a slight glimpse of what he thought was Jack. The giant man rushed in that direction and the other two followed behind him. Sam neglected to give them any information as he advanced rapidly down the hallway, hot on Jack's heels. The nephilim and a girl, who could only be the dream walker, proceeded out of the back side of the building. Sam hurdled passed the door. "Jack!" He shouted. "Sam?...Clark?" The boy had a tight grip on Kaia's forearm. However, when he turned towards the trio, Kaia kicked him hard behind the knee and Jack collapsed to the ground. Kaia punched the nephilim hard across the face and then made a break for it. 

The group of guys ran to Jack's aid. "She hit me!" He cried. "Yeah. Good." Dean berated him as he grabbed onto the boys shoulder. "No. She's getting away. I can't let..." Jack intoned. "No. No. No." Dean interrupted. "Hey! We're not letting you near her until you tell us what's going on." Dean scolded. "Jack...You...What are you doing?" Clark pressed. Jack's brows furrowed in confusion and his head tilted slightly to one side. "Why are you here with them?" He questioned the raven haired boy. "Don't worry about Clark." Dean fumed. "Tell us what the hell you're doing." Jack focused his attention on the older Winchester. "I need her." He practically growled. "Like you needed Derrick?" Sam argued. "Yes!" Jack shouted angrily. "You don't...I'm doing this for you." He told the brothers. "Oh, you killed Derrick for us?" Dean accused. "Derrick's dead?" Jack asked in disbelief, genuine shock registering across his face. "Wait, hold on a second. Jack, tell us what happened. Everything." Sam coaxed. Jack's gaze met Clark's piercing blue eyes. "I left. To...try to get a grip on my powers." His line of sight shifted to Dean and then Sam. "I wanted to prove to you that I'm good. To do one good thing. So I did the thing you wanted the most. I experimented with opening doors to other worlds. I could almost do it. I could get right to the edge. But I couldn't see. I could only feel around in the dark. I needed eyes. A see-er." "A dream walker." Sam answered with a nod of understanding. "So I researched, like you taught me. That's how I found Derrick. I didn't know if it would work, but it did! He dream walked and I joined him in apocalypse world." A look of shock was shared between the Winchester brothers. "I could see what he saw. And I saw...I saw her." He professed. "Her?" Sam encouraged. "Your mother. She's alive. But she's in danger." "What?" Dean gasped. "What does that mean?" Sam pressed. "It's easier if I show you." He proclaimed. Clark watched as Jack raised his hands to rest on the temples of the two men. Jack's eyes lit up a burning gold color and the light radiated through to the Winchester's eyes as well. If Clark was being honest, it looked downright terrifying. Only a few seconds passed until Jack's hands receded and the light faded from their eyes. "Mom." Dean exclaimed in a hushed tone. "We have to find Kaia, she's the key." Jack implored the others.

Sam, Dean, Clark, and Jack all packed into the Impala and Dean peeled out of the parking lot. Finding Kaia was an urgent matter now. Sam and Dean went on talking about their mother and Clark took this opportunity to converse with Jack. "I'm glad you're okay, angel boy." He said before gingerly reaching out to lay a hand over one of Jacks. The other boy smiled at the touch. "Clark, How did you get involved in this? You're not a hunter." The sheriff's son inhaled sharply. "I had to find you, Jack. I didn't want you to be all alone. I was...I was worried about you." Clark confessed with a loped sided grin. Jack couldn't help but return the smile and he grabbed Clark's hand a little tighter. "Kids, you okay?" Dean interrupted them. "Yeah." Clark responded without taking his eyes off of Jack, who also nodded in agreement. Dean peered into the rear view mirror to look at the two teenagers in the backseat. When he saw that they were both smiling, his shoulders relaxed ever so slightly. "So, what's the plan to save mom?" Dean inquired. The group of hunters articulated a plan to rescue Mary, and all the while, neither Jack nor Clark moved their hand away from the others. 


	10. The Bad Place

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Clark joins the Wayward sisters to help bring Sam and Dean back from "The Bad Place".

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Merry Christmas! Here's a nice long chapter that ends in despair.

Finding Kaia proved to be an easy feat. As well as rescuing her from the angels that were holding her captive, thanks to Jack. But when is anything in the hunter’s profession truly straight forward? Partially through the trip to the wind tunnels, another vehicle ran the hunters off the road. In an attempt to lose them, Dean veered onto an old dirt road. Soon, however, the road came to an end at an abandoned ship yard. Sam, Dean, Jack, Clark, and Kaia rushed out of the Impala and into the ancient looking ship docked at the pier. Once inside, they scrambled to cover the decrepit structure in sigils, to bide them some time from the angels that were after them. It was now or never for opening a rift. The group traveled up to the second floor of the ship and discovered a small empty room. Kaia found an abandoned chair and slid it over to the middle of the room. The screeching of the metal chair on the metal floor made her cringe, but she promptly sat. Jack then brought his hands up and placed them on her temples. Dean, Sam, and Clark stood in defense around the duo, holding tightly onto angel blades. Kaia’s eyes filed with an intense golden light as Jack helped her navigate through the alternate universes. A minute later an explosion of light radiated from the duo. 

The next thing that Clark knew, he was waking up in a hospital room. A nurse wearing blue scrubs stood at another bed in the room, which was occupied by Kaia. “Your vital signs are stable, your concussions minor, but we’re gonna need to keep you here under observation.” The nurse told her before exiting the room. As soon as she was gone, Kaia ripped the IV needle from her wrist and then searched for her clothes. Before Clark managed to say anything to her, a leather-clad petite blonde entered the room. “Where are you going?” She asked coyly. Kaia startled but she had found her belongings in a clear plastic bag. She snatched it up and stood. “Hey, I get it. If I had the cops on my ass, I’d be racing outta dodge too.” Clark sat up and reached for his angel blade, forgetting that he, too, was in a hospital gown. “You know her, Kaia?” Clark asked, his voice threateningly low. “No.” Kaia answered. Clark stood and aggressively approached the blonde. She raised her hands in defense. “I’m a friend of Sam and Dean Winchester.” She explained. “And I think you know them too.” 

Kaia and Clark exchanged a look of uncertainty. “Leave me alone.” Kaia spat before walking out of the room. The blonde and Clark followed quickly behind her. “Kaia! Hey! What about Jack?” Clark called when they had breached the hospital. But Kaia stood frozen in the cold parking lot, staring wide-eyed at a horrifying creature that Clark had never seen before. Biker Barbie pulled out a knife and rushed the monster, stabbing it in the neck. However, It seemed to have no effect and the monster threw her backwards like a rag doll. Clark wanted to attack, but he didn’t have a weapon. Suddenly, a shot rang out, hitting the creature in the leg. Using this as a distraction, the blonde leaped forward again with the knife and drove it up under the monster’s jaw. A fountain of a sickly blue ooze spurted from the wound, then creature proceeded to fall to the ground with a thud. “So, let’s talk.” She said smugly to Kaia and Clark. The petite blonde introduced herself as Claire Novak. An older lady with short brown hair appeared from the shadows, holding a gun. “And that’s Sheriff Jody Mills.” Claire smirked. “Hey there guys, I wasn’t expecting there to be two of you.” Jody greeted. “I’m Clark. Barker.” The raven haired boy stated. “Ah. Jack’s friend, right?” Clark nodded. “Kaia.” The dream walker stated simply. “Great! Well, why don’t y’all help me load this thing into the truck?” The Sheriff implored, gesturing to the dead monster. Jody smiled and returned her gun to its holster.

Back at Jody’s house, Alex and Clark hauled the weird creature from the trunk to a rolling table in the garage. Claire and Kaia kept watch outside while Jody, Alex, Patience, and Clark all examined the monster. “What’s behind the mask?” Jody wondered aloud. “Let’s find out.” Alex responded while applying blue latex gloves. She firmly grabbed the black mask covering the things face, and pulled it off. Slimy blue ooze stretched upward with it as it came off, causing Patience to gag. “Oh God.” She commented. “Don’t scream.” Alex advised. “Might puke.” Patience countered. The garage door opened and Claire and Kaia slowly drifted inside. “What the fuck is that?” Clark asked as he stared at a mangled fleshy face of some sort. “I don’t know.” Jody confessed. “She does.” Claire declared, motioning to Kaia. “It’s okay. You can tell them.” Claire coaxed. “Um. I’m a dream walker. It means, when I sleep I see another world. This other dimension.” Kaia stated. “Seriously?” Patience questioned. Kaia nodded solemnly. “The bad place. It’s…it’s where that thing came from.” She informed the group. “Your friends, Sam and Dean, they wanted me to open up a door to another world. And we did, but smoothing went wrong.” Alex pulled back the appendages covering the things mouth to reveal a dangerously sharp beak underneath. “Okay, so how did this thing end up here?” Jody asked. Kaia shrugged her shoulders. “The door’s still open.” Clark answered, his voice breathy with surprise. It had to be. That was the most reasonable explanation. “If we find it, we find Sam and Dean.” Claire added. “No. If they’re there, they’re already dead.” Kaia said harshly. Claire snickered. “You don’t know Sam and Dean very well, do you?” 

Jody, Alex, and Clark piled into the Sheriff’s SUV while Claire and Kaia packed into a Jeep with Patience. They barreled down the road for a little while and Clark filled Jody in on how he met Jack and the Winchester brothers. The sheriff briefly shared her back story, skipping over some of the horrors from her past. “So, Where are we heading?” Clark asked. “We’re meeting up with a friend that can help us.” Jody answered. Not long after, the two SUV’s pulled off into a secluded parking lot. Everyone exited the vehicles and looked around. “Why are we stopping?” Kaia questioned. “Taking a breather. I called in some back up.” Jody responded. “Like what? The National Guard?” Patience inquired. “Ohhh, Better.” Jody told her. Just then a truck horn sounded and a massive black pick up truck came around the corner. Sheriff Donna stepped out from the vehicle. “Hiya ladies!” She smiled. “Hey Donna!” Alex beamed. She hurried forward to hug the sheriff. Donna hugged her back and looked over to Claire. “Okay. You too, Rainbow Brite. Come on, bring it in.” Claire smirked and then rushed over to join in. “Patience, Kaia, Clark, this is Donna Hanscum. She’s uh…She’s killed a lot of vampires.” Jody introduced. “Ah, you know. I do what I do. Any who, I brought the basics.” Donna said. She walked over to the cab of her truck and showed them a box filled with guns, ammo, hex bags, a wooden stake, and some knives. “Why do you have all this?” Patience asked. “I’m from Minnesota!” Donna answered with a smile. “Kaia, Clark, where were you guys when this went down with Sam and Dean?” Jody inquired. “I don’t know. We were heading west out towards Sioux Falls. On route 14.” Kaia stated. “But we were ran off the road, so we pulled into an abandoned shipyard. I didn’t see a sign.” Clark added. “It’s the Larson Brothers Shipyard, just off route 14. Shut down in ’08.” Alex informed them, reading the information from her smart phone. “Well then, let’s go check it out.” Jody ordered. 

Once they pulled up to the shipyard, they knew they were at the right place. Dean’s Impala was parked right out front. Patience and Alex decided to stay behind to keep watch. Jody and Donna led the charge, while Claire, Kaia, and Clark followed behind. The group progressed into the ancient ship, holding weapons and walking stealthily along the main floor. They took in the sight of melted angel blades and remnants of wings etched into the walls with ash. “Hey. Up there.” Jody whispered, pointing her gun upward at a balcony on the next floor. It was glowing a faint orange color. “Donna, you take the back. Everyone else follow me. And keep close.” Jody ordered. It didn’t take long to find the source of the light once they were all upstairs. “Whoa. There it is.” Donna stated. Clark advanced towards it, but Donna reached out and grabbed his arm. “What?” Clark inquired. “Shhh….” Donna said, letting go of his arm and bringing a finger to her lips to hush the group. Everyone was silent. Somewhat faint sounds of banging and crashing came from down the hall. Jody and Donna looked to each other. “Everyone wait here. Donna and I will investigate.” Jody dictated. However, once the sheriffs’ were around the corner Claire ran forward into the rift. “No!” Kaia said in a hushed shout. She too, lunged into the line of light. “Fuck.” Clark commented and followed behind the girls. 

Clark fell face forward onto the ground of a forested area. “Nice landing.” Claire teased. “Yeah, well, shut up.” He grinned before standing to his feet. All three young adults took in their surroundings, but were quickly on the move upon hearing an ominous growl in the distance. “This way.” Kaia told them, grabbing Claire’s hand and pulling her North towards the woods. Clark followed closely behind, a knife held ready in his hand to attack if needed. However, the trio was lucky enough to avoid any creatures on the way. Kaia lead them to clearing that was littered with bones. Sam and Dean were there, tied up against trees. Claire ran forward without hesitation and cut Dean free, while Clark did the same for Sam. “Claire?” He heard Dean ask. “Hey boys!” She smiled. Sam rubbed his wrists where the ropes had dug in. “How did you get here?” Sam asked urgently. “The door. It’s still open.” She informed them. “For now.” Kaia clarified. “Where’s Jack?” Sam asked. “He’s not here, with you?” Clark questioned. “No.” Dean answered. “I think he’s in the other place, with your mom.” Kaia told the brothers. 

Another deep growl emanated from the woods, closer this time. “It’s time to go.” Claire urged. “Yeah. We gotta go. Let’s go.” Sam agreed nudging Kaia along. The hunter’s made off toward’s the opening. Claire smiled when she saw that the rift was still there, shining dully. A twig snapped behind them and Kaia turned around to investigate the noise. She saw the dark hooded figure launch her spear at Claire. Panic overtook Kaia, and she pushed Claire into Clark, knocking them both over. But her actions caused her to travel into the line of fire and the spear sliced straight through her abdomen. Kaia hit the forest floor, blood spurting from her mouth. “No!” Claire cried. She crawled over to the other girl and grabbed her hand. “Kaia.” She whispered. The dream walker squeezed Claire’s hand, and then took her final breathes. Hot tears welled up and fell freely from Claire’s eyes. Clark sat, unmoved from where he had fallen. His eyes were glued to Kaia’s fading ones and his mouth was slightly agape in shock. The loudest growl yet caused them all to look up at an enormous monster, standing obnoxiously tall over the trees. It was covered in thick bumpy scales and it possessed glowing red eyes. “We gotta go. No! Claire.” Dean ordered, when the girl tried to run at the hooded figure. He grabbed her by the arm and pulled her back. Now was not the time for revenge. “We gotta go!” Sam iterated. Clark stood, still staring up at the monster, and Sam grabbed his forearm, pulling him into the rift with him. Dean and Claire followed right behind. The rift immediately closed shut upon their reentrance into the ship. “No!!!” Claire wailed. Kaia’s body had been left behind. Both of the sheriffs came running into the room at the sound of Claire’s screams. Jody collapsed to the floor to hold onto Claire, who was now sobbing. She ran a hair through her daughter’s hair and looked up with watery eyes at the brother’s. Sam wore a pained expression and he shook his head no, silently answering her unspoken question.

Dean, Sam, and Clark sat rigidly in the Impala. The ride back to Jody’s house was dead silent. Dean didn’t even bother turning on the radio. The recent events were just now sinking in for Clark. Feelings of dread, helplessness, and defeat permeated his skin and sunk down into the depths of his bones. Watching Kaia die, and not being able to stop it, had really shifted something inside of Clark. It rattled him, and now he couldn’t stop himself from wondering if Jack was dead too. He swallowed roughly, fighting back the onset of tears. “We’re going to bring Jack home, Clark. The apocalypse world is bad, but not nearly as bad as the place we just came from. Jack will be okay. He’ll be okay.” Sam reiterated, wanting desperately for his words to be true. Clark just nodded in response. He hoped that Sam was right.


	11. Lucifer on the Loose

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A rewrite of 13x14. The hunter's learn of Lucifer's whereabouts. Mary and Jack escape from Michael, and Bobby takes them to his camp.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapters is just a rewrite of 13x14, “Good Intentions”. Next chapter will be a lot more free form.

"Let me get his straight..." Dean said, standing across from Cas, who was sitting at the war room table. "...you were kidnapped. Weeks ago. Locked up." The angel nodded in reply. "Cas, I just talked to you on the phone." Dean told him, exasperated. "No. No." Cas replied, leaning forward in the chair and looking up at all three of the hunters gathered in front of him. "Asmodeus had my phone. You've been talking to him." The older Winchester shook his head and threw his hands up in disbelief. "Well, what did he want with you?" Sam questioned. "Well, he mostly wanted Lucifer. I just happened to be in proximity." Sam recoiled when the devil's name left Cas' lips. "Lucifer?!?" Sam questioned, his voice several octaves higher than normal. "I thought you guys left him over in the apocalypse world?" Clark objected. "We did." Dean answered. "Yes, well. Kevin Tran..." Cas began. "Kevin Tran?" Dean asked incredulously. "...the apocalypse world version, yes. He managed to open a rift, using Lucifer's grace. Michael, again, the apocalypse version, he wants to use the spell to invade and conquer our world." A look of shock passed over the hunters' faces. Clark huffed out a laugh and looked up at the ceiling, shaking his head. "Great, well, I'm glad you find this funny." Dean said sarcastically to the young hunter, while glaring dangers at him. Clark wore a massive grin on his face. He raised both arms and shrugged. "Not funny, just amusing. Does the world always need saving from immediate danger? Have you three ever had a vacation? God, no wonder Jack was so overwhelmed all the time." Sam opened his mouth to speak but then closed it. "We need to get to the apocalypse world and stop Michael." Dean implored the group, ignoring Clark. "Yeah, but Dean, we don't have an angel tablet." Sam countered. "No...but we do have a demon tablet." Dean replied. Cas nodded in understanding. "It's...something. I'll go and find Donatello." The angel flew off in the blink of an eye. 

******************************

In apocalypse world, Jack was thrown into one of Michael's prison cells by the angel Zachariah. Jack looked up to see a woman sitting against the wall, knees tucked into her chest. She eyed him suspiciously. "Mary Winchester?" He questioned, pushing himself up into a sitting position. The woman's brows furrowed in confusion. "I've seen you before." She said. "Your sons, Sam and Dean, they, they sent me." He told her. "Are they...are they here?" Mary asked, alarmed. "No. No, they..." Jack responded. "Oh, thank God." She sighed, relaxing slightly. "My name is Jack." The nephilim introduced. "Jack," Mary echoed. "Your mother wasn't Kelly Kline, was she?" "You knew my mother?" Jack asked excitedly. "I was there when you were born. When she, uh..." "Died." Jack finished. "You...you should be six months old." Mary stated. "I am," Jack answered. "Sort of..." "Jack, how did you get here?" Mary asked. "I opened a door." He stated simply. "To another world? You can do that?" Mary asked incredulously. "We...Sam and Dean and my friend, Clark, we were coming to rescue you, but...something went wrong and we got separated." Jack explained. "I tried to fight Michael, but he was in my head. He wants me to use my powers, but I don't know why." Jack explained. "I do. He want's you to open another door, so that he can take over our world." Mary told him. "I won't. I won't let him, he can't make me." Jack emphasized. Mary sat quietly, thinking. "Well, then, let's find a way out of here." 

"How far until we're safe?" Jack asked, as he and Mary traversed the barren land of apocalypse world, leaving Michael's prison far behind. "Out here? I'm not sure there's such a thing." Mary replied. "Wait. Shhh..."The Winchester ordered, holding out her arm to stop Jack from proceeding forward. They saw two figures walk behind an abandoned truck. She and Jack ran behind an old propane tank and crouched down low. However, seconds later, both men approached them, aiming their guns at the weaponless duo. "Are you two angels, demons, or humans?" One of them barked at Mary and Jack from behind a scarf. "Humans! We're human." Mary answered while stepping forward. "Mary Campbell?" The guy asked. "It's Bobby, Singer." He said, pulling the scarf off of his face. "Bobby." Mary echoed, remembering the stories that her sons told her. "You called me Mary Campbell. Do you know me?" She inquired. "Knew you. The other you, she...well, I thought you were a damn ghost." Bobby explained. "Turns out, you're just from a whole other world," He huffed."...Who's the kid?" Mary looked at Jack and then back at Bobby. "I'm Jack!" The nephilim smiled. "...Friend of the family." Mary finished in a hurry, before Jack could tell him that he was part angel. "Well, then, you better come with us." 

Bobby, and the guy with him, led the duo to their camp. "Welcome to home, sweet home." Bobby said sarcastically when they reached their destination. "What happened to them?" Jack asked when he saw the refugees there with varying degrees of injury. "Angels happened." Bobby growled. "Angels did this?" Jack pressed. "They've done worse." Bobby shrugged. "Two days ago, angels dive bombed a colony in San Antonio. 400 people. Not a soul left alive." There was a brief pause as Bobby surveyed the camp. "This ain't a war. This is an extermination." He sighed. "...Bobby. Michael, he'll be looking for us." Mary informed the solider. "Don't worry. We've got protocols protecting us. Wardings, look-outs in the trees, a few other tricks up our sleeves." He replied. Mary and Jack smiled, both of them thankful to have a place to hold up. 

Bobby showed them around the campsite and introduced them to a few people. Jack was eager to meet everyone, and he wore a giant smile on his face as he talked to the refugees. Mary admired his spirit. She let Jack do most of the talking as she observed their surroundings. By the end of the night Jack had easily made friends with all of the children. Mary watched him as he sat on the ground in front of a large sheet, hung like a screen. A lantern sat on top of a nearby tree stump, and much to the children's delight, Jack was making shadow figures with his hands. The sight put a warm smile on Mary's face. Bobby brought her a cup of tea and then they both stood, watching the boy entertain everyone. Jack made all of the classic animals, but then he began making shadows that were just too precise to be natural. "What, is he a witch, a psychic? " Bobby asked. "Jack's a...nephilim" Mary practically whispered. The blood immediately drained from Bobby's face. "Excuse me?" He said, glaring at her. "He...he's...half angel, half..." She started. "I know what a nephilim is." Bobby interrupted. "What I don't get is, why would you bring one into my camp? You know what angels have done to us! I...I trusted you!" He raged. Mary stared at Bobby, a sadness in her eyes. "I want him gone by morning." Bobby ordered. "If he goes, I go with him." Mary informed the soldier. "Well, then, that's your choice." He replied before storming off. Mary sighed heavily and watched as the children laughed and cheered for Jack.

In the morning Mary caught up with the boy. His smile faded as he observed the scowl on Mary's face. "You really like it here, huh?" She asked. "These people. Everyone's so brave." He replied. "But...we can't stay here." Mary said solemnly. "Why not?" He huffed. When she remained silent, he began to understand. "...Because of me?" "Jack...I'm so sorry." She apologized. Her shoulder's jumped and her eyes widened in surprise when sirens started blaring throughout the camp. "We got incoming!!!" Bobby yelled at the top of his lungs, gun already alert. Massive balls of raging fire began raining down upon them. The attack had started in an instant, and now everyone was scattering for safety. Mary and Jack ran through the woods in search of cover, running straight into Bobby. "You. This is your fault!" He accused the nephilim. "My fault?" "You used your powers! That's how they found us." Bobby shouted angrily. Jack frowned at his feet, thinking about the night before. "No...I...I didn't mean to..." He stammered. "Well, ain't that just gravy." The old man barked. "What can we do to help?" Mary asked. "Here, take this." Bobby said, shoving a hand gun into Mary's hand. "There's a grain cellar with escape tunnels underneath. Round up any kids you can find, get them to safety." He ordered. "I'll come with you." Jack told Mary. "You've done enough." Bobby spat. "Jack. The angels. We can't let them find you, so...just find some place and hide." Mary instructed. The boy nodded and she and Bobby took off running to help the others. 

Several angels were now standing in the middle of the camp. "Find the child. Kill the rest." Zachariah ordered his soldiers. They spread out in search of the nephilim, killing every human that got in their way. Jack tried to keep running from the place that Mary had left him, but the sound of screaming stopped him. He was the cause of this, and he couldn't just leave these people here to die. He took back off, this time running towards the sounds of battle. Jack bounded through the woods, dirt kicking up from the force of his feet hitting the soft ground. He didn't dare stop until he reached Zachariah at the outskirts of the camp. The despicable excuse of an angel stood over Mary Winchester, posed to strike. "Stop." Jack's voice rang out, clear and commanding. His stature echoed the strength of his voice, and his power pulsed through his veins. Zachariah smirked at the nephilim's attempt to look menacing. He raised his fist at Mary, ready to kill her as Michael had ordered. But Jack was faster. He raised his hand and hurled shockwaves of power at Zachariah. "I said, STOP." He boomed. Zachariah clutched his chest in agonizing pain as the nephilim's waves of golden light penetrated his vessel and forcefully lifted him up from the ground. Moments later, Jack closed his hand into a fist and crushed the angel into oblivion. A faint blue light, remnants of the angels grace, fell along side his ashes and both were washed away in the wind. Bobby stood off in the distance, his mouth slack with shock. Jack's eyes glowed immensely golden as his body surged with power. Bobby's soldier instincts kicked in, and he managed to tear his eyes away from Jack in order to survey the area. "More incoming!" He shouted. Jack raised his hand once more and the incoming angels exploded in mid air. 

The survivors were soon wrangled back to the center of the camp and the uninjured administered first aid to all of the rest. "Well, I don't know what to say...except thank you." Bobby told Jack. The old man felt embarrassed that he had judged the nephilim so quickly. "Jack, what you did was amazing." Mary confirmed. Jack stood silent, taking time to absorb the outcome of his recent actions, both good and bad. "These angels, what they're doing...they aren't going to stop. As long as Michael's out there, this war will never be over." Jack stated. "So, what are you saying?" Bobby asked the boy. "...I have to kill him. I have to kill Michael." Jack said firmly. He was determined to end this war, and to save the people that he had befriended here. His world could wait. Leading the war against Michael, it felt like it was his destiny.

******************************

The Winchesters, Cas, and Clark were now on the hunt for Lucifer. However, during the search, they ran into someone they didn't expect to see. Arthur Ketch. Upon viewing the hunters burst in through the doors, the ex-man-of-letters laughed. "It's only you." He sneered. "What the hell are you doing here?" Dean asked, and Ketch sighed. "Do we really have to do all of this again?" He inquired. "Last time we were together, I saved your lives and then you shot me." He accused, looking pointedly at Dean. Clark smirked. He could definitely imagine Dean shooting this guy. "Doesn't that make us even?" The douchebag asked. "Dean asked you a question." Sam all but threatened. "My sources tell me Lucifer's back. He's weak. And he's...he was, in this building. I was going to try to kill him." Ketch informed them. "Okay. Who are you working for?" Sam asked. Of course, the British bastard then tried to play it off as though he was doing it for the greater good. "I propose that we work together." Ketch suggested. Castiel reached forward and touched his finger's to the man's forehead. Ketch then proceeded to drop to the floor like a ton of bricks. "Friend of yours?" Clark asked. Dean rolled his eyes at the witty remark. 

When Ketch re-awoke, he sundered back off back to Asmodeus. "Rest assured, he will be found." The British man told his master, while standing in the center of the demon's lair. Asmodeus was busy pouring two glasses of a golden brown liquor. "And killed. Before he causes any more problems." The demon added while handing the man a drink. Ketch took it and held it while pondering how he could possibly kill the devil now that he was stronger. "Oh, and those idiot Winchesters. Use them to open up a gate to Michael land. I'll put a stick up his ass too. Archangel is the last thing I need." Asmodeus growled, before taking a long drink from his own glass. "Yes. Well, Lucifer is getting stronger, and as good as I am...and I am very good, I don't think that even I can kill the devil at full power." Ketch replied before taking a drink as well. "About that." The demon smirked. "You recall the important errand I had mentioned?" He asked while producing a box from a nearby cabinet. He removed the top and then showed what was inside to Ketch. "An archangel blade?" The man asked in disbelief. "Beautiful, isn't it?" Asmodeus pondered aloud. Ketch nodded. "The only known weapon capable of destroying an archangel." The demon declared. He returned the lid to the box and replaced the weapon into the cabinet. "Forgive me, but my knowledge of the lure suggests that only an archangel can wield the weapon effectively." The ex-man-of-letters stated. "Thanks for the news flash." Asmodeus said sarcastically. He indicated for the man to follow him and then the demon led them both through a hallway full of prison cells. They stopped in front of a solid steel door. Asmodeus pulled back the viewing slot and let Ketch observe what was inside. "Allow me to make an introduction. Mr.Ketch, meet the archangel, Gabriel." The thing that Ketch saw did not resemble an angel of any kind. He was chained up and drenched in filth, his body was broken and torn, and his mouth was gruesomely sewn shut. This was inhumane, even for Ketchs' standards, and Asmodeus should not possess this magnitude of power. The ex-man-of-letters attempted to swallow the terror that rose in his throat.


	12. Angel Warfare

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jack helps at the camp and Dean, Clark, and Ketch search for him in the apocalypse world.

Beams of sunlight infiltrated the dark blue fabric of Jack’s tent, creating a beautiful dappled pattern of varying shades of blue. The nephilim awoke from a restless slumber and laid staring at the roof. The colors reminded him of the night sky and he smiled. Despite the fitful rest, Jack was in good spirits. Michael had been outraged by the nephilim’s first victory. The day after, Michael sent in another, bigger, fleet of angels to the Dayton campsite in retaliation. Jack and the refugees made quick work of killing the angels. Some of the campers were wounded, but there were no casualties. “Jack?” A gruffy voice called from outside. The boy propped himself up on his elbows and then stood, emerging through a slit in the canvas. Bobby was there, holding two cups tea. He handed one to Jack. “Mornin’ sleepy head.” Bobby chuckled when he saw Jack’s messy hair. “Listen son, we have a council of, well, leaders that meets every couple-a days. I was thinking that you, and Mary, should join us today.” The old man said, before taking a long sip from his cup. Jack nodded. “Yes, I think that would be good.” He answered. “Good. Meetings at dusk around the main campfire.” Bobby offered a forced smile. He turned to leave, but Jack stopped him. “Wait. I want to help out around the camp today. What can I do to help?” He questioned. Bobby thought for a few short moments. “Go and find a woman named Ashlynn. She’s husky, got light skin, and brown hair. She takes a small group into the woods every morning to forage for food. I’m sure she’ll let you tag along.”

It took a little bit of asking around, but Jack finally found Ashlynn near the barrels of stored rain water. She was filling canteens for the trip. “How far do you guys go out?” Jack asked her. She smiled at him. “It’s Jack, right? Well, we don’t go out more than a few miles. But, there’s always a chance of getting separated, or the camp getting attacked while we’re away, so, you know, better safe than sorry.” Ashlynn looked back to the water barrel and continued filling the last few canteens. “Bobby told me that I could help you today!” Jack beamed. “He did, did he?” She laughed sweetly. “Do you know anything about foraging? Like, what plants people can eat and which plants are poisonous?” Jack tilted his head and furrowed his brows. “Poisonous?” Ashlynn screwed on the cap to the final canteen. “Here.” She said, placing a few them into Jack’s hands. She began walking back to the camp and Jack followed. “I guess I don’t mind showing you the ropes, seeing as you saved us the other day and all.” The woman told him. He smiled brightly in return.

There were several women, two teenage girls, and a handful of children that made up the food-gathering group. They walked out about two miles east of the camp before people started dispersing. Ashlynn showed Jack how to look for morel mushrooms and left him to his own devices. He searched for several minutes, putting a couple of mushrooms in his bucket. A young girl with long blonde hair saw him contemplating over his finds, and so she approached him. “Can I search with you?” Jack smiled warmly. “I don’t know if I’m doing it right, but you are welcome to join me, Jennifer.” She giggled, pleased that he remembered her name. “Here, let me see.” The girl grabbed his bucket and inspected the contents. “You’re doing okay.” She encouraged. “Morels are easy because there aren’t any poisonous mushrooms that look like them.” She informed Jack. The duo hunted a wide radius of the woods for sustenance. Jennifer taught him how to find easily identifiable plants and she told him lots of silly jokes to pass the time. Laughter filled the air around them as they worked and it lightened the mood of seriousness that Jack had felt since he had arrived in apocalypse world. 

Dusk arrived all too soon and Jack found himself sitting around the main campfire with Bobby, Mary, and a few others. There was chatter amongst the group while a tall muscular black man added wood to the fire pit and then set it ablaze. When everyone was seated, Bobby began the meeting. “Alright everyone, as you can see, we have two extra people tonight. You all know Mary and Jack. I’ve asked them to join us for this meeting. Mary, Jack, allow me to make introductions.” Bobby then gestured to a women sitting next to Mary, “That’s Tootsie. She cooks for the camp.” Tootsie was a big old white woman with snow white hair. She waved to the new comers. “Jack, you know Ashlynn, who leads the foraging group. Next to her is Dalton, and his son, Connor. They take a group out in the early morning to hunt.” The father and son looked just alike, Jack thought. Both tanned with thick dark hair. Bobby continued clockwise around the campfire. “Lois and Rachel are sisters, and they teach first aid. Used to be nurses before the apocalypse.” Bobby added. Rachel smiled genuinely at them but Lois’ expression stayed stern. “Bryan’s in charge of scavenger groups. Corey, here,” Bobby gestured to the man sitting next to him. “Is my right hand man and we lead the camp in warfare.” The old man concluded. “Hello!” Jack said enthusiastically to the group. Mary smirked, ever fascinated by him. “Jack, I was hoping you would join Corey and I with warfare input. You know, given recent events.” Bobby informed him. “Okay.” Jack replied simply, though a big smile crept onto his face. “Mary, well, you just have a different perspective on things, and you have a wealth of knowledge about all the things that go bump in the night. I’d like for you to be a visor, of sorts. If thats alright.” He said, looking sheepishly at the Winchester. “Of course.” Mary replied. “Good. Good. Uh, alright then. Let’s get down to business.”

“Any major concerns?” Bobby asked the group. “We are dangerously low medicine and we’ve already scouted a hundred miles in each direction.” Bryan declared. “And we’re also extremely low on bandages and materials for stitching injuries. That plus no antibiotics makes a really shitty situation.” Lois added. Bobby nodded solemnly. “Anything else?” Connor looked over at his dad expectantly. Dalton sighed. “It’s not quite as important, but what little bit of wildlife there was here…it seems their numbers have dwindled to almost non existent. Prolly vamps or werewolves getting to them before us.” Dalton guessed. “Great.” Tootsie huffed, “Well then, Ashlynn, I’ll need you to forage for more wild nuts. With all these soldiers to feed, we need the protein.” Ashlynn nodded. “We’ve been collecting buckeyes, but we’ll also grab some chestnuts and black walnuts on our next venture out.” She told the old lady. “Good. I can work with those.” Tootsie stated. “You can work with anything, Tootsie. Shit, you could probably make dirt taste good.” Corey laughed. There was a chorus of laughter from the group with some words of agreement thrown in. Tootsie bat their praise away with a hand, but still she grinned.

“Okay, we have a solution for the hunting issue then. What about the first aid dilemma?” Bobby prodded. No one answered. “Are there any medicinal plants in the area?” Bobby asked Ashlynn. She shook her head no. Again, silence befell the group. Jack listened to the fire cackle and pop. The problems they were having were due to injuries. Jack had healed Clark before. “I have the ability to heal people.” Jack spoke up, shrugging his shoulders. The entire group looked at him in disbelief. “You can do that?” Rachel asked excitedly. “Well, I’ve only ever done it once before. For a stab wound. And I was only able to heal the innermost damage.” Jack contended. “I bet you would get better with practice. Cas does it with ease.” Mary encouraged. The nephilim nodded in agreement. “Yeah, I mean, I’d be willing to try.” Rachel clapped her hands together with glee. She bounded from her seat and hugged Jack. “Thank God you showed up.” She said softly into his shoulder. Jack smiled contently. 

 

As the meeting concluded, other people began joining in around the campfire. Adults took seats on logs that were put around the fire pit for make-shift benches. Children and teenagers sat cross-legged on the ground, close to the heat of the flames. Soon the night air was filled with excited chatter. Jack moved from a log to sit with the younger group. “Hello.” He greeted them. “Is it true that you’re part angel?” A teenage girl immediately interrogated. “Jeez, Loraine.” Another teen girl criticized, hitting her friend lightly on the arm. “No, it’s okay.” Jack said. “Yes, it’s true. I am a nephilim. Half angel and half human.” Jack confirmed. The kids looked stunned by this information. “Whoa. Wait, but you’re not bad, like those other angels…” Loraine’s friend observed. “No. I’m not like other angels.” He replied. “Because you’re part human too?” Jennifer perked up. Jack nodded. “That makes sense I guess.” The little girl decided. “So then, what’s your favorite color?” A little boy asked, completely moving on. Jack chuckled. “I like blue.” He answered. The color reminded him of his favorite things, the midnight sky, the ocean, and Clark’s eyes. “What’s your favorite?” He questioned in return. “Orange.” The little boy answered softly with a shy smile. “What’s your favorite food?” Another kid bellowed. Jack was very patient with the kids in answering all of the following questions, which were numerous. Everyone wanted to know all about the hybrid boy. “My mother was human and my biological father is an archangel.” Jack told the group when asked about it. “Do you miss anyone, being away from your world?” Jennifer mused. “Yes, I do. I miss my father’s. I have three of them. One is an angel and the other two are human brothers. I also miss my friend, Clark. They’re all probably worried about me.” Jack sighed. Silence followed. Everyone in the group was missing someone too. Moms, dads, sisters, brothers, friends…The apocalypse had taken so many lives. 

That night Jack laid awake, thinking about Clark, whom he missed the most. He missed Clark’s easy going vibe, his optimism, his smile, his laugh, his obnoxiously blue eyes…Jack sighed heavily. He really needed to get some sleep. He closed his eyes and tried to relax, counting his breathes until sleep overcame him. The nephilim dreamt that he was back in the bright grassy green meadow. The contrast of it compared to the apocalypse world was absurd. He saw Clark in the distance, wearing the same outfit as before. “Clark!” Jack tried to call, but no sound came out. The other boy was distracted by something, unaware of the nephilim’s presence. The sky darkened around them and the wind picked up drastically, whipping through Clark’s thick dark hair and making it dance. He looked frightened by the turn of events. Clark began running toward’s the nephilim, and away from some invisible presence. Jack out stretched his arms, reaching for him. Clark got close, but then stopped dead in his tracks. His mouth twisted in pain and his white t-shirt began to turn dark burgundy red. “No!” Jack cried. Blood began seeping into every crevice of the fabric and then spurted from the boy’s lips. He turned sickly pale and finally collapsed to the ground. Jack attempted to run to him, but his legs felt like they were weighed down. He couldn’t move. He began to panic and then he couldn’t breathe. Jack jolted awake, covered in sweat from the terrifying dream. He rubbed his face with his hands and he realized that he was shaking. “Clark’s okay. He’s okay.” The nephilim told himself. “It was just a dream. Clark is back at the bunker, safe with Dean, Sam, and Castiel.” Little did he know, Dean, Clark, and Ketch were in the apocalypse world at that very moment. 

**************************************************

The hunters were crouched down in the snow, observing a silo where a group of angels held rebels captive. Amongst them was the apocalypse world version of Charlie Bradbury. “Now what?” Ketch asked Dean. The latter grabbed his gun and gestured for the other two to follow him. The guys moved stealthily into a position behind a barn wall, ready to ambush the unsuspecting angels. “The resistance will be broken.” An angel declared to the small group that was lined up in front of him. “It is being broken. One by one your leaders are being rooted out and executed. Soon there will be none of you left.” The angel sneered. Dean pulled a grenade out of his pocket and looked to Ketch. The British man nodded in approval. Dean pulled the pin and threw it. When it exploded, it caused the perfect distraction. Dean, Clark, and Ketch charged the silo, shooting and killing the angels mercilessly. Dean ran to Charlie’s aid and the rest of the prisoners scattered into the surrounding woods. “Come on.” Dean instructed. “We’re here to help.” He assured Charlie. She looked behind her and then at Dean, trying to decide if this was some sort of trap. Reluctantly, she followed him. 

On the walk back to the rift, Dean filled Charlie in on why they rescued her. “So, to recap, there’s another world…a better world with no Michael. And it has another…me?” Charlie inquired. “Well, had.” Dean corrected. “And you were friends with her? Me? Her?” Charlie asked. “Yes. Very.” Dean answered. “How very?” Charlie pressed, clearly offended. “What? No. She was into chicks.” Dean clarified. Clark snickered at Dean’s statement. “What? You got a problem lesbians?” Charlie accused. “Nope. Wouldn’t be one to talk if I did.” Clark stated deftly. “What the hell is that supposed to mean?” Dean huffed. “It means, I’m not exactly straight as an arrow. I’m more into the person than the parts. I go both ways. I like to…” Clark rambled. “Okay. Okay. Got it.” Dean interrupted, holding up a hand as if to signal ‘stop’. “We’ll have a talk later. For now, shut up.” Dean barked. Charlie laughed and turned to high five Clark. “Look, Charlie, were running out of time. I need to know where the nephilim is. Jack.” Charlie furrowed her brows as she thought. “Last I heard…he was fighting in what remains of Dayton, Ohio.” Dean nodded, tucking away that information for later. “There.” Ketch said, pointing to the floating orange light. “Okay. This things closing any minute now. We gotta go.” Dean instructed. “Dean. You and Clark need to go through. Bring back Sam, your angel, and Gabriel, and the bloody Navy Seals. Whatever help you can get. But I shall stay.” Ketch declared. “I’m staying too.” Charlie informed him. “What?” Dean asked, flabbergasted. “This is my home, Dean. My friends are here, and they’re in trouble. This is my fight.” She clarified. Dean swallowed hard, anger and guilt rising in his throat. He didn’t want to leave Charlie here. But this wasn’t his Charlie and it wasn’t his decision to make. “Dean. It’s closing.” Ketch observed. Clark waved goodbye and then walked into the rift. Dean stalled and took out his gun. He handed it to Charlie and then he reluctantly walked in to the rift behind Clark.

“Dean? Dean, hey!” Sam cried, helping him up from the war room floor. Cas stood next to Clark, quickly looking him over for injuries. “Where’s mom? Where’s Jack?” Sam asked aggressively. “Long Story.” Clark said. “Mom, Jack, there not with Michael anymore. Ketch and Charlie stayed behind to try to find them.” Dean informed them. “Charlie?” Sam questioned. “Yeah, there’s a Charlie over there and she kicks ass.” Dean extolled. “Hey, what’d we miss?” Clark asked when he saw the war room in disarray. “A demon incursion lead by Asmodeus.” Cas told them. “Sorry, Asmodeus got in here?” Dean asked incredulously. “Yeah. And Gabriel killed him.” Sam announced, forcing a fake smile. “Gabriel? That’s great! So, he’s back. Where is he?” Dean beseeched them. “He left.” Cas stated simply and solemnly with his head hung low. “What do you mean he left?” Dean questioned, exasperated. “We asked Gabriel to help us and…and he said no.” Cas confessed. Dean inched forward, stopping in front of the war room table. “He doesn’t get to say no.” Dean’s face scrunched in anger. “We still have his grace, right? Sam?” Dean fumed. “We uh, we used his grace to heal him. So it’s…it’s gone.” Sam explained defensively, also hanging his head. ”So, if it’s all gone then that means that we can’t open that door again.” Dean stated angrily.“If we can’t open the door, then I should have never come back!” Dean shouted, slamming his fist down on the war room table. Clark flinched, he had never seen Dean this outraged. Sam and Cas had, however, and they stayed as still, and as quiet, as statues. “Son of a Bitch!!!” Dean exploded. In his rage, he knocked everything off of the table in front of him. Papers flew and a lamp crashed to the floor. “Every time!!!” Dean cried before clasping his hands on the back of his head. “Every time we get close, it always falls apart. Every freakin time.” Dean’s voice slowly became less threatening. “Dean…we will find Gabriel. We will.” Cas assured him gently. “We better.” Dean reprimanded.


	13. Archangel Antics

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I couldn't stop thinking about the story, so I wrote another chapter right away. I can't believe I actually wrote this so quickly! But I'm super happy with it. I hope you are too!

It took a while, but the Winchester’s were finally able to locate the archangel, Gabriel. It turned out that he was on a pathway of revenge, hunting down the demigods that had sold him to Asmodeus. Sam and Dean ended up joining forces with him in order to win his allegiance. Sure enough, after defeating Loki and his sons, Gabriel agreed to help the hunters on their quest. Though he made it perfectly clear that he wouldn’t be sticking around any longer than was necessary. 

*******************************

Dean parked baby in the garage and killed the engine. “Alright, I’ll grab Cas and Clark, and you call Rowena. We need to get a plan in order.” Dean told his brother. Sam nodded in reply, then took his cell phone out and dialed the witch. Dean stepped out of the driver’s side door and looked into the backseat. “You comin’?” He asked. Gabriel rolled his eyes dramatically but stepped out of the car anyway. Dean led him through the bunker, stopping at the gym when he heard voices inside. He and Gabe peered inside to see Cas standing behind a punching bag, holding it while Clark delivered blow after blow. The odd pair stood at the doorway and watched for a moment. Cas was giving the hunter tips. “Keep your elbows tight, and remember your stance. If the feet aren’t right…” “Nothing’s right.” Clark finished. “Right.” Cas chuckled. Dean decided that this was a good a time as any to interrupt. “Hey! Hate to break up the ‘Rocky’ vibe you guys have going but…” Cas and Clark looked over to Dean and “…Gabriel!” Cas exclaimed. “Heya Cassie!” The archangel replied with his ever mischievous grin. Cas abandoned the punching bag and strolled over to give his big brother a hug. Clark followed suit, jogging over to them, while sporting the world’s biggest smile. “Hi! I’m Clark.” He greeted. “Gabriel or Gabe. Whatever floats your boat.” He said, his words briefly muffled by Cas’ trench-coat-covered shoulder. “Shall we?” The archangel added, gesturing towards the stairs. 

Dean, Gabe, Cas, and Clark were sitting at the war room table when Sam joined them. “Rowena’s on her way.” The giant man informed them. “Cool. So, what’s his story?” Gabe asked, pointing to Clark. “Ah, he’s a hunter in training.” Dean remarked before taking a swig from the beer bottle in front of him. “I’m friends with Jack.” Clark added. “Ah, I see. And how is my nephew?” Gabe inquired. “He is currently leading a resistance against Michael in the alternate universe.” Cas answered. “Wow. Quite the eager beaver! He’s, what?, less than a year old? And trying to take on Michael?” Gabe whistled long and low. “Yeah, see, he actually wants to help keep the world from being destroyed.” Dean retaliated. Gabe glared daggers at him. “If my grace was replenished, you’d have a helluva…” “Hey, you two. That’s enough.” Sam interjected. Everyone hushed and an awkward silence fell over the table. Clark leaned back in his chair and propped his feet up on the edge of the table, crossing his ankles. “Really dude? Boots off the table!” Dean barked. Clark just cocked his head and smiled at him, unmoving. “Clark…” Cas intoned. The boy sighed and dropped his feet from their resting place. “You guys are no fun.” He grumbled, snatching his beer. He twisted the cap off and tossed it across the table at Dean, who caught it reflexively. Clark smirked and then took a big gulp from the long neck bottle. “I think we’re going to get along just fine, kid.” Gabriel laughed. Sam shot him a bitch face, which made him laugh harder. “Oh Sammy. You and your brother are in for it.” Cas sighed at that remark, he knew Gabriel’s antics all too well. Things were about to get chaotic. 

The sound of the bunker door creaking open, and then clamoring shut, filled the air, alerting them to Rowena’s presence. “Hello boys!” She greeted as she descended the spiral staircase. When she reached the bottom, she strutted over to Clark and ran a few fingers through his lush curls. “And who is this gorgeous wee lad?” Clark grinned ear to ear. “That’s Jack’s friend, Clark.” Sam informed her while fighting back a smile. “Yes, well, we’re going to need all the help we can get.” She admonished with a bitter sigh. Rowena took a seat next to the boy and laid her spell books in front of her. “So, how do you boys suggest we acquire archangel grace?” She postulated. “Well, we have an archangel right here.” Sam told her, gesturing to Gabriel. “Guilty as charged.” He piped up, before winking at the witch. “Great! Well, then we should be able to do the spell within a matter of minutes!” Rowena exclaimed. “Ah, uh, well, not exactly….” Sam sputtered. “Yeah…I’m a little low on God juice.” Gabe elaborated. “Oh?” The witch questioned. “We thought that we would wait for Gabe, here, to regenerate.” Dean forced a fake smile and pointed his thumb at the archangel sitting next to him. “And how long would that take, pray-tell?” She asked. Gabe gave a big shrug. “Hard to tell. Could be days or weeks, or…I don’t know.” He stated. “Well, do we have a back up plan?” The witch asked, throwing her hands in the air in frustration. “We could acquire the grace from Lucifer.” Cas spoke up. Rowena drew in a deep breath and curled her fingers into fists, fighting back the urge to flat out refuse that option. “I don’t like it, but Cas is right. We don’t have to work with Lucifer, we just need to take his grace.” Dean offered. There were a few seconds of silence as everyone mulled it over. “How would we catch him?” Cas questioned. “I think I may have an idea there…” Gabriel replied.

They worked out a plan, skipping over the one that included Gabriel’s grace for the sake of time. “We’ll carry out the plan tomorrow evening. Get some rest for now, boys. You’ll need it.” Rowena advised. “Sounds good.” Sam replied. He and Dean stood from the war room table and shuffled off to bed. Rowena followed behind, taking a room she knew to be guest quarters. Clark wasn’t nearly tired enough to sleep yet, and the angels didn’t require it, so they all stayed put at the table for a while. A few minutes passed in silence before Clark piped up. “So, Lucifer, huh? Jack’s biological father.” The boy said, tapping his finger’s on the table top. “Yep.” Gabe replied. “Lucifer wasn’t always the bad guy, you know. He was actually pops favorite before everything went to shit.” The archangel defended. “Hard to imagine him as anything other than evil.” Cas huffed. “Yeah, well, I knew him before the fall.” Gabriel countered. Cas nodded his head. Another few moments passed in silence. “Say, Cassie, would you be a dear and set up a room for me? I think I’d like to lay down and rest.” Gabriel said. “Of course.” Cas replied. He immediately rose from his seat and hurried down the hallway, trench coat flapping behind him. When he was out of sight, Gabe looked to Clark and smiled a mischievous grin. “I think we should bring a little fun into the bunker, what do you say? Are you experienced in the noble art that is pranking?” Clark returned the mischievous grin. “Better believe it.” The teen boasted. Gabriel lit up at the response. “You. Me. Prank war. One week. Not including the trip to apocalypse world, of course. And You, sir, are going down.” The archangel challenged. “Bring it.”

The next morning was the calm before the storm, in more ways than one. Everyone sat amicably for breakfast, making small talk and eating french toast. Afterwards, however, Sam got a rather annoying surprise when he opened his laptop. He didn’t even notice it at first, until he began typing. “What the fuck?!? Who messed with my laptop?” Sam hollered angrily. Clark bursted out laughing from the other room. “What’s a matter Sam-squatch?” Gabriel asked curiously. “The letters on my keyboard are scrambled!” Sam ranted. He practically flew out of the chair he was sitting on to go grab a tool kit. Gabe smiled, amused. Not a bad start from the kid. Hours later, however, Gabe’s first prank came into fruition and man, was it was glorious! At 1:23pm, all of the alarm clocks in the bunker went off. It was insanely loud in the enclosed structure. Everyone (except Gabe, of course) scrambled to turn them all off. “Gabriel! This was your doing!” Dean accused when it was over. He was flustered as hell. “You should have seen your faces!” The archangel taunted with a laugh. Clark crossed the room to give him a high five. “Nice one!” He extolled. “Oh, Grow up you two.” Dean barked. “Preferably before we kidnap the Devil!” He shouted angrily. That wiped the smiles off of their faces. “Jeez, chill out man.” Clark urged. “We’re just having a little fun.” “Well stop it.” Dean commanded. Clark sighed and roll his eyes. “Right…”

Evening came entirely too quickly. Sam went over the plan with everyone again, then Gabriel and Rowena left to set up their trap for Lucifer. “Anyone up for a beer?” Dean asked, though he didn’t wait for a reply. Instead he bounded off to the kitchen and returned with four beers. Dean passed them out to his comrades quickly and then joined them in sitting at the war room table. “To getting Jack back.” Clark announced, holding his bottle to the sky. “To Jack.” The other hunters agreed, raising their bottles as well. Dean took a long drink from his and then set it down in front of him. His brows furrowed in thought. “We never discussed your sexual orientation.” He told Clark. Sam almost spit out his beer but ended up almost choking on it instead. “What?” He asked through a coughing fit. “I told Dean that I was Bi, when we were in apocalypse world.” Clark filled in. “Why does that matter?” Cas asked. “It doesn’t, really.” Clark speculated. “It matters, because it makes me question your motives for rescuing Jack.” Dean articulated. Clark’s jaw went slack. “Are you fucking serious?” He huffed. “That’s really rich coming from the king of one night stands. You might only be interested in people for sex, but I’m interested in Jack for a hell of a lot more than just that.” Clark spat. “But you are interested in him?” Dean reiterated. Clark shook his head in disbelief, eyes wet with angry tears. He opened his mouth to answer, but than closed it. Instead, he pushed his chair out from the table, the legs squealing in protest against the floor. He stood up and sped off down the hall. “Nice going, Dean.” Sam chided. 

Clark stayed in his room, listening to music with his favorite black and silver headphones. He needed to mellow out before traveling through the rift. His door opened a half an hour later, and Sam stood in the doorway. Clark slid his headphones around his neck. “I’m sorry about Dean. Anyway, it’s time. Come on.” The Winchester ordered. Clark set his laptop and headphones aside, grabbed the bag he packed for the trip, and followed Sam out to the war room. Lucifer was there, kneeled on the floor and restrained by magic. “What’s going on guys?” Lucifer asked. No one answered him. Rowena grabbed the steel bowl she had crushed ingredients in, and placed it front him. “Ah. Okay. I think I see here, you’re planning a trip to save mother Mary and you need my grace. Is that about it?” The devil remarked. “Good guess.” Castiel growled, forcefully grabbing a handful of Lucifer’s hair and yanking his head back. He used his angel blade to cut a line across the devil’s neck, causing his grace to spill out into the bowl. Lucifer watched as his grace poured slowly out. “Okay…You could have done this back at the bar. Could have drained me, kill me, what’s this really about? Humiliation? Revenge?” He questioned. “Nah, those are just bonuses.” Sam sneered. “See, we got a lot of work to do over in apocalypse world, but not a whole lotta time to do it. So, I realized something. I realized we could use you. Use you to not just crack the door open, but to keep it open. So we’re gonna drain you. And we’re going to keep on draining you.” Sam explained. “Like a stuck pig.” Dean commented, throwing his bag over his shoulder. “Grace on tap. Sorry bro.” Gabe added. “Then. When we get back. That’s when we’ll kill you.” Sam finished bitterly. “Cool.” Lucifer said sarcastically. “Gonna be okay back here?” Sam asked the Rowena. “Aye, someone needs to keep an eye on the devil. Go. Save your mum.” The witch told him. One by one the angels and the hunters entered into the rift. Clark ended up being the last one in line. He took a final glance at the devil powerless on the floor, and he pondered what Gabriel had said about him. ‘He wasn’t always the bad guy.’ “Sorry.” He told him before turning back and entering into the apocalypse world.


	14. Apocalypse World

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning: Depictions of gore and a character death in this chapter.  
> This one's long and the ending is a bit sad.

The rift never seemed to open in the same place. On this occasion, the group of hunters and angels found themselves in Northeast Kentucky. Once they had their bearings, provided by Cas, the group set off towards their destination. It was going to be about a two day hike to Dayton, Ohio. As they trudged along, Cas struck up a conversation with Gabriel. He was curious about the archangel’s intentions with this endeavor. “Have you, uh, thought about what’s next when we get back to Earth?” Castiel pried. “Uh, yeah, not so much. Seeing as we still have to find Jack and Mary. Ah, and not to mention, survive Michael and his super angel army…What’s next for me, I don’t really know.” Gabriel replied. “This world, it’s obviously glutted with angels, but back home in our world, it’s just Naomi and a handful of others.” Cas mentioned. Gabe looked over at his brother, slightly shocked at the news. He knew things were bad, I mean, hell, that’s why he’d left in the first place, but…”Their trying to keep the lights on, but Heaven’s dying, Gabriel.” Cas sighed. “You serious?” Gabe questioned. Castiel nodded solemnly. “Very.” “And you think I can fix it?” Gabe replied incredulously. “Yeesh. I skipped out of Heaven, Castiel. They wouldn’t want me back. As far as they’re concerned, I’m a screw up. Hell, as far as I’M concerned, I’m a screw up.” He objected. Cas shrugged. “Well Heaven’s been ran into the ground by upstanding angels, perhaps a screw up is just the change we need.” Gabriel internalized Cas’ words and he thought on them as they continued hiking. 

Meanwhile, back at the bunker, Lucifer was trying to rile up the redheaded witch. He knew if he could get her to make him angry, he could snap out of the magic cuffs. So he taunted her relentlessly. Rowena tried her best to bite her tongue, but Lucifer knew how to press the right buttons to get what he wanted. “Remember that? When I surprised you at your hotel? I mean I even wanted you to put up a fight, I wanted a little bit of a tussle, but…you froze. You chocked. So I chocked you.” Lucifer emphasized. “What was that like? Burning to death? You know, I can’t get that smell outta my nose. That ashy reek of burnt up ginger ass.” He laughed cruelly. “Shut your mouth!” Rowena cried, rising up from her seat and charging Lucifer. She grabbed a handful of his hair and yanked his head back. “You want to get inside my head, twist the knife? Well, two can play that game. Do you know what your grace is making possible right now? A heartfelt family reunion of Sam, Dean, Cas, me, and your very own son, Jack.” Lucifer’s mouth twisted into a snarl. “That’s right. Your wee boy is right through there.” She said, pointing at the orange beam of light in front of them. “And he’ll be so glad to see his three fathers, because as far as he’s concerned, they are his father and you’re nothing to him…or me, or anyone now. You. Are. Nothing.” She shoved his head away while releasing her grip on him. Lucifer’s rage built up with her every word, surging through his body. The mention of Jack, however, pushed him over the edge. In one quick motion, he broke free of his invisible chains and grabbed Rowena by the throat. His eyes glared a menacing red and he rose up in the air, bringing the witch off of the ground with him. She struggled unsuccessfully for air. “Oh, red. You shouldn’t have made me mad.” He growled. Lucifer lifted his free hand to his own throat and sealed the wound there. “You know, you and Gabe kicked me while I was down. I didn’t have any fight. Anything to live for. But you, you gave me something to fight for again.” He sneered. “My boy. So for that, I’m gonna be quick.” He added, insinuating her death. Rowena panicked and shot a blast of her magic at him, throwing him backwards, right into the open rift. She gasped to refill her lungs. “Bollocks.” She cried when her voice returned. The devil was now in the apocalypse world.

Dean, Sam, Cas, Gabe, and Clark carried on their journey, hiking across the land. The older Winchester came to a halt when he heard screams in the distance. “Not our world, not our problem. Right?” Gabe urged. But it’s not in a Winchester’s blood to ignore calls of distress, and so the rest of the group lugged behind the brother’s, over to the source of the cries. An ugly creature had hold of a burly man, who was yelling at the woman he was with. “Run Maggie! Run!” He cried as he attempted to get the monster off of him. Maggie did the exact opposite, however, and tackled the creature to the ground. The monster got back on it’s feet in no time flat and reared it’s head, showing off it’s fangs. Dean sprinted up behind it and pointed his gun at it’s face. Sam was quicker though, and with a mighty swing of his machete, the vampire’s head slid off of it’s shoulders and it’s body fell with a deft thud. “What was that thing?” Dean asked. “What do you mean? It’s a vampire.” Maggie said, as though it was obvious. “It’s not like any vamp we’ve ever seen.” Sam informed her as he wiped the blood off of his weapon. “Who are you?” She countered. “I’m Sam, that’s Dean, Cas, Gabe, and Clark.” Sam quickly introduced. “We’re not from around here.” Dean added. “So, tell me, what makes a blood sucker look like that?” He inquired. “Starvation. When Michael’s armies started to wipe out the humans, they didn’t think about the monsters and what would happen to them when their food source dried up. Turns out, not eating makes ‘em wild. Nothing but pure, stupid appetite.” The burly man explained while looking at the severed vampire head in disgust. “Which way you headed?” Maggie asked them. “North.” Dean stated plainly. “To Dayton?” Maggie pressed. Dean nodded, a bit of surprise showing on his features. “We were going that way too. We heard the rebels Jack and Mary set up a satellite colony there, an outpost.” She informed. Sam and Dean exchanged a knowing look. “Wait. What do you mean you were?” Sam asked. Maggie sighed. “Me. Floyd.” She gestured to the man next to her. “And the rest of our group. We were crossing North through the Morehead tunnel. We stumbled into a whole nest of those things.” She recalled. “Nine of us went in, only me and Maggie came out.” Floyd reported. “This tunnel, is it the only way North?” Dean questioned. “There’s a mountain pass but it’s a long way around. Tunnel’s the quickest route.” Maggie said. “Well, if the longest way is the safest way…” Gabriel implied. “No. We’re already two days out from Dayton as it is. We don’t have time for a detour.” Sam dictated. “Listen, we’ve faced worst than a nest of vamps before, much worse. So if you still want to get to Dayton, we’ll keep you safe. As far as we’re concerned, we’re going through that tunnel.”

When they arrived at the tunnel entrance, floyd drew in a sharp breath. “Second times a charm.” He told himself. “Alright, here’s the plan. Stay close. Keep walking. Anything moves, kill it.” Sam laid out. “Let’s do this.” Dean encouraged. They all filed into the tunnel one by one, snapping glow sticks to light the way in the darkness. They managed to get through the first half of the tunnel without mishap. The second half, however, was much less forgiving. It was there that the group of hunters encountered a vamp that was still eating a member of the previous group. Sam frowned at it, strode over, and swung his machete, effectively beheading the monster. Maggie and Floyd couldn't help but gape at the horrific picture of gore in front of them. Body parts of people they had known were strewn about this section of tunnel. Maggie covered her nose with a hand to stop herself from gagging at the overwhelming smell of iron in the air. The group pushed passed, ever vigilant of their surroundings. A handful of vampires tried to attack as they pressed on, but were easily dealt with. Upon entering a partially lit section of the tunnel, they stopped for a breather. Dean checked a couple of nearby openings, trying to discern what was the tunnel and what was just caves of eroded rock. He was able to identify the right course quickly, but the part they needed to go through was blocked by some fallen rocks. “Hey. Gotta blocked passage way over here. Need some help moving rocks.” Dean announced. Cas and Gabe hastened over to help. Sam, Clark, and Floyd used their flashlights to peer into the modest caves. And Maggie stayed put in the middle of the room, admiring a small pool of water that had collected off to the side. 

Minutes later, a vampire rushed Floyd without warning, and ripped the hunter’s throat out with it’s hideous fangs. “Dean!” Sam called for back-up. Two vampires hurdled towards the tall man, but Maggie wrestled one of them to the ground. She watched as Sam sliced through the other vampire, then proceeded to dismember the one attacking her. The vamps blood splattered all over Maggie’s face and jacket. Sam shrugged at her, it was better than being eaten. Dean appeared from around the corner and helped Sam and Maggie fight off even more of them. The creatures seemed to be pouring out of one of the small caves. Clark planted his feet firm on the ground and raised his machete, poised to fight. That is, if any of them made it over to him. He was towards the back after all. A vampire leapt in his direction soon enough and the boy swung his weapon with all of his strength. The vamps head rolled to the ground. Dean peered over and shouted at him. “Behind you!” Clark pivoted on the spot bringing the machete around full force and decapitating another one of the creatures. “Nice!” Dean praised as he pushed a vamp away from him. “You’re a natural, kid.” Sam enthused while back to back with Maggie. Clark smiled brightly at them. 

The vampire that Dean had shoved switched targets and came for Clark. The boy swung his weapon again, but it got stuck three quarters of the way through the thing’s neck. Clark raised a boot to the monsters midsection and pulled on his machete, trying to dislodge it. The weapon finally gave way and Clark lost his balance, falling backwards. Three more vampires snuck out of the shadows from behind the boy. “No!” Sam shouted while he wrestled another vamp. The Winchester watched in disbelief as a vampire sunk it’s fangs into Clark’s exposed neck, tearing a huge chunk of flesh from the boy. Crimson blood spurted and poured from the wound. “No!” Clark screamed, hands grabbing for the monster to get it off. However, the other two vampires had managed to tear his t-shirt open and now there were two more sets of fangs digging in. Clark produced a strangled cry of tremendous pain and anger. The monster’s rapidly dragged him away, back to their burrow to feed. Clark’s heart rate sped up with fear and shock, but that only caused him to lose blood faster. The vampires had him by the boots and were dragging him, but he had been rendered incapable of fighting back. He began to feel cold, his mind went fuzzy, and he thought about Jack. He had been so close, but now, he would never see his face again. The vampires stopped moving him and then latched onto him, draining what was left of his blood. Clark’s vision went white with immeasurable pain, and then suddenly everything went black. 

Castiel came over to join the fight, but he saw Clark getting dragged away. “Clark!” He shouted, following them into the darkness of the cave. Everyone else continued fighting off vamps. Dean blew the head off of the one in front of Sam and then the younger brother went running after Cas and Clark. Gabriel joined Maggie in the open space, now empty of vampires, with a brow raised in question. Cas came striding back through the cave only seconds later, and ran into Sammy on the way. “Clark?” He asked hopefully. Cas shook his head and grabbed Sam by the arm, hauling him back to the rest of the group. Dean, Gabe, and Maggie looked to the duo, wearing the question on their faces. “He’s gone.” Cas stated numbly. “We have to keep going.” Sam ordered with tears stinging his eyes, “We have to get to Jack and mom.” Dean cleared his throat and swallowed down the guilt he felt for pushing that vamp Clark’s way. “Right. So, come on, let’s go.” He commanded with a rough voice. The smaller group continued on, reaching the end of the tunnel in only twenty minutes. “Damn. We were so close to getting everyone through.” Sam voiced with sorrow. 

The sunlight was blinding but their eyes quickly readjusted. The trees stood proudly and and the wind swept up playfully. It was almost too nice out, and it made their current losses hurt even more. Everyone carried on the rest of the way in complete silence. Once the hunters neared the camp, Cas found it harder and harder to continue walking. “What’s a matter Cas?” Dean asked him. “This warding, it’s too strong.” Cas answered. The trees surrounding them were covered in enochian sigils. Gabe looked at them and twisted his mouth in thought. He walked over to one and traced it with an angel blade, contemplating it’s origin. Then he laid a hand flat against it and all of the sigils in the forest glowed a bright hot orange before burning away. Castiel immediately let out a sigh of relief. Gabe’s actions, though, caused a man to race out of the woods, holding a gun at the group. “Whoa. Whoa. We’re not here to fight.” Cas reassured. More people with guns appeared, surrounding the group. “We’re just looking for…Mary?” Cas perked up when he saw the Winchester. “Castiel? Sam? Dean?” Mary was shocked. She raced over to her sons and enveloped them in a hug. “How did you even find us?” She exclaimed. When no one answered she pulled away to observed the boys solemn faces. “What is it?” She questioned them. “There was someone else that we brought with us, but, uh, he…we ran into a nest of vampires on the way here and…” Sam tried to explain. Mary nodded in understanding. “Wait, it wasn’t Clark, was it?” She asked. “Uh, yeah actually. It was.” Sam confirmed. Mary covered her mouth with a hand and her eyes went wide. “Jack’s told me all about his best friend. Oh, he’s going to be so upset when he finds out.”

Back in the caves of the Morehead tunnel, Clark’s stiff body laid lifeless on the ground. On a large rock next the boy, sat Lucifer. The archangel used his replenished grace, (courtesy of a few angels he encountered and…drank) to repair Clark’s body and return his soul to it. The boy began to breathe and then opened his eyes. He reached up to feel his neck, which was now in tact again. Then slowly, he sat up and looked around. “Lucifer? But…how did you get here?” Clark questioned upon seeing the devil. Satan laughed harshly. “You think a pair of magic cuffs could hold me? The devil? Seriously?” He replied. Clark tilted his head, apparently mulling it over, but he didn’t reply to the rhetorical question. “Thank you, Lucifer. For resurrecting me.” The boy told him sincerely. “Yeah, well, pops isn’t the only one capable of pulling it off.” Lucifer commented. “Anyway, I didn’t bring you back from the dead for your own sake. I did it, because I want to meet my son, but those do-gooder lumberjacks aren’t gonna let me near him unless…” Lucifer explained. “Unless you come bearing gifts.” Clark finished. “Exactly. So, shall we? That is unless you want to stay behind with them.” The devil said, pointing to the plethora of vampires that he was holding back with his powers. Clark scuttled backward when he saw them. “Nope. No. I’ll come with you.” He declared. “Smart kid.” 

Mary led Sam, Dean, Cas, and Gabe through the campground. They passed a bunch of tents, cabins, and people, before stopping near a miniature lake. “Jack!” Mary called out. The nephilim was in the middle of a conversation with Corey, but he turned around when he heard his name. “Sam! Dean! Castiel!” Jack shouted with glee when he saw them. He ran to his father’s and gave each a big heartfelt hug. “You found us!” Jack beamed. “Of course we did, you’re family.” Dean said. Jack took a few steps back and surveyed the area. “Where’s Clark? Didn’t he come with you?” Jack asked. The smiles on his fathers faces vanished. Dean sighed heavily. “Jack, buddy…” Dean started. The nephilim’s smile faded. Something was clearly wrong. “Clark did come with us. But, when we traveled through the Morehead tunnel we ran into a bunch of vampires, and…” Sam struggled to find the right words. “Clark got ambushed by a pack of them, and we couldn’t save him. I’m so sorry.” Castiel finished. Jack took a few seconds to register what he was just told. “He’s…dead?” Jack asked, for clarification. “Yes. I’m so sorry, Jack. I know he was your best friend.” Sam replied. Jack felt sick to his stomach. How could this have happened? “He can’t be dead. He can’t be.” Jack mumbled while backing away. The air felt too thick to breath and his vision started spin. “Jack.” Cas said sternly, as he came forward and laid a hand on his son’s shoulder. The nephilim batted it away angrily. “Can’t you bring him back? Why didn’t you bring him back?” Jack shouted at Gabriel. “I’m not strong enough.” Gabriel answered bitterly. “You think I wouldn’t have done it if I could have? Hell, I really liked the kid. It sucks that he’s gone, but I am not capable of fixing it.” Gabriel snapped back. Jack clenched his jaw shut and attempted to fight back tears. “It’ll be okay, Jack. We’ll get through this.” Sam told him. Jack glared at him but then his expression faltered and tears began to flow freely down his face.


	15. The Reunion

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jack and Clark are finally reunited! Lucifer is not a welcomed addition to the team. They all pull off the mass evacuation and then theres a celebration in the bunker!

Jack’s heart felt like an anchor, weighing him down to the depths of an endless abyss. It was crushing. Alarms rang out suddenly, piercing the crisp air, and pulling Jack from his internal despair. People rushed around him, trying to discern where the threat was coming from. Moments later, Jack saw them. Lucifer walking side by side with…Clark! They were in the middle of a discussion, but when Clark laid eyes on Jack, he dropped his backpack to the forest floor and raced towards him. Jack’s heart soared from the depths so quickly that it made him light headed. Cautiously, he walked forward, untrusting of his own eyes, until Clark collided with him and wrapped his arms around the nephilim’s waist. The impact almost caused Jack to fall backwards. He managed to stay upright, however, and he wrapped his arms around the other boy’s neck in return. He drew in Clark’s unique scent, mixed with the smell of blood. A stark reminder that he had been drained of life by vampires only a short while ago. “Clark. You’re alive.” Jack stated, his voice faltering. “Yes I am. I’m okay now, Jack. It’s okay.” Clark assured him while constricting his arms tighter around the nephilim’s midsection. “I’m so sorry, Clark. Your death was my fault.” Jack chocked out. The other boy chuckled in response. “It wasn’t your fault.” Clark told him sternly as he leaned back from the embrace to look him in the eyes. Those icy blues caused Jack’s breath to catch in his throat. “And even if it was, you’re worth dying for.” Clark said cheesily and then grinned ear to ear. Jack couldn’t help but return the grin and huff out a laugh. 

“I hate to break up this ‘moment’ you two are having but…” Lucifer had made his way over towards the group of hunters. He was’t sure what to make of his son’s reunion with his friend, but he put it aside for now. “Oh. Right.” Clark mumbled. He released Jack and took a few steps back to address everyone. “Lucifer was the one who brought me back to life!” He exclaimed happily. “It’s what I do.” The devil shrugged. “It is not what you…how did you get in here?” Castiel growled. The rest of the hunters looked at him like they wanted his head on a plate, and they probably did. “VIP pass. I’m with the band.” Satan said smugly. “Come on guys! Shouldn’t you be thanking me? I gave Clark an extra life!” He exclaimed, gesturing to the raven haired boy. “Besides. What with my little bro, here, being a hot mess, I figured you need me.” Gabriel gave his older brother some serious side-eye but he didn’t bother commenting. “So, I’m here to join the team.” Lucifer declared, clapping his hands and rubbing them together.

“You’re name is Jack.” The devil questioned the blonde haired boy. “And yours is Lucifer.” Jack replied. Lucifer nodded his head. “No, no, no…” Dean intervened, walking over between the two. “You. Don’t talk to him.” He barked at the devil. “And you. Don’t listen to him.” He ordered the boy. “Um…don’t you think that’s his choice?” Lucifer commented. “No.” Cas replied deftly. “Are you trying to keep me from my son?” He accused. “This is Kelly Kline’s son. He’s nothing like you.” Cas spat. “Don’t say he’s nothing like me. I’m the only one who understands him. This power he has. I’m powerful.” Lucifer retaliated. “No. Gabe, kill him.” Dean ordered. Gabriel furrowed his brows. Even if he wanted to, he couldn’t kill him. Not yet anyway. “He’s not strong enough.” The devil declared. “Dean…” Gabriel cautioned. “You’ve got the blade, do it!” Dean raged. “Stop it! Just stop it!” Jack shouted before disappearing into the wind. “Great job, guys.” Clark chided. “You know, the more you keep him from Lucifer, the more he’s going to want to go behind your back to talk to him. Is that what you want?” There was real anger in Clark’s voice, something that was rare for him. But father issues always rile him up because he knows how fucking awful they can be. Clark turned from the group and raced off into the woods after Jack.

Clark wondered around the greenery for a while but he didn’t see the nephilim anywhere. “Jack?” He began to call out. He ventured farther, calling out his friends name as he went. Finally, another voice rang out. “Go away. I want to be alone.” Clark followed the voice and found Jack sitting nestled into an oddly tall tree root. It made an excellent hiding spot. “It’s just me, Jack.” Clark told him before sitting down next to him. Jack shook his head and a few tears of frustration fell from his eyes. Clark Wrapped one arm around Jack’s shoulder and with his free hand, he wiped the tears from the nephilim’s face. “What’s on your mind?” He asked gently. Jack didn’t answer right away, but Clark just stayed still and quiet until the other boy spoke. “My mother.” Jack practically whispered. “She told me that I am what I choose to be. That it doesn’t matter what I am, it matters what I do.” Clark wiped another stray tear away. “You’re mother was right. You’re actions are what matter, but so are your intentions. It’s not always about the outcome, Jack, sometimes it’s about fighting for what’s right. For the people you love, for the good of the world.” Jack looked over at the boy sitting next to him, a bit baffled. How was he so young, and yet so wise? “What do you fight for, Clark?” Jack decided to ask. “A better future, to save lives, for my mom, and for you.” He answered. “I’m not sure that I’m worth fighting for.” Jack sighed. “Well, I am.” Clark stated sincerely. He tucked a few stray hairs back behind Jack’s ear and kept his hand there. His eyes flickered between Jack’s golden brown eyes and his rose colored lips. He leaned in and brushed his lips questioningly against the nephilim’s. Jack reciprocated the movement, leaning into the kiss and deepening it slightly. It was short and sweet and Jack liked it very much. When they broke apart both boys smiled brightly. Then Jack raised a hand to the back of Clark’s neck and drew him back in for another kiss. This one was more passionate and it lit something inside of Jack. His body felt tingly, his mind melted, and a new feeling surged through him; pleasure. Clark reluctantly pulled away after several blissful seconds. “I could kiss you all day, angel boy.” He mused. “But if Lucifer’s here, that means that the rift will be closing soon. We need to get back to camp.” He sighed.

Back at the camp, Sam, Dean, and Mary we’re discussing plans. “I’m staying here. I’ve fought beside these people. I respect them, I respect their cause. You can’t expect me to just abandon them.” Mary told her boys. “No, mom, that’s not what…you heard what Lucifer said, we have 31 hours.” Sam objected. “Sam. Dean. I know what you went through to get here, but these people are being slaughtered. They need me here.” Mary argued. “No, we need you, mom. We do. We have been mopping up the world for years. Years! We’ve been knocked down, we’ve been possessed, we’ve lost friends, we’ve lost family. Hell, we’ve lost each other. And we never walk away. Ever! Sam, tell her.” Dean ranted. “Dean, sounds like mom’s made up her mind.” Sam opposed. “See? Wait…what?” Dean replied, flabbergasted. “Mom doesn’t want to leave these people.” Sam stated. “…So, let’s take them with us.” He proposed. “They’ll never leave their home, they’ll never leave their cause.” Mary said. “I’m not saying abandon the fight. I’m saying we get them somewhere safe, and then we all find out a way to take down Michael. Then once we do, we can bring them back here to save their world.” Sam clarified. Mary smiled and then nodded her head in response. “Alright, how many people are we talking?” Dean questioned. “About…25?” Mary guessed. 

Clark and Jack reentered the campground and then split up. Clark went to find Sam and Dean, while Jack went to find Lucifer. He found his father quickly, but he was being supervised by Castiel. Jack walked over toward them both. “Son.” Lucifer addressed him. “It’s Jack.” The nephilim corrected harshly. “Jack, talking with Lucifer, it’s not a good idea.” Cas advised. “I’m not gonna talk. I’m gonna listen.” Jack turned towards Lucifer and stood in front of him, waiting for him to speak. “Wow. I’ve been waiting for this moment for so long, I almost don’t know what to say. This dad thing is sorta new to me.” Lucifer confessed. “Do you, uh, have any questions for me? Don’t be intimidated, just fire away.” He said. “Why does everyone hate you?” Jack asked. “Wow, um, okay. Yeah, let’s just get right to the point. Good question. Um, so, you’ve probably heard the stories. Anything bad happens, anything evil befalls the world, it’s my fault. Fake news.” Lucifer defended. “That is not entirely true.” Cas objected. “I mean, yes, I’ve done things that I’m not exactly proud of…I have led the occasional soul to ruin, this is true. But, Jack, it’s because humans are so messed up. Their so willing to be led.” The devil blamed. ”My mother was human.” Jack stated angrily. “Awesome lady. Incorruptible. Not like that. The point is…humans are not perfect. They are hardwired to fall. And when they do, they need a fall guy.” Lucifer pointed to himself. “That is a vast oversimplification.” Cas input. “Okay, true or false, Cas. For almost…ever, I’ve been locked in a cage.” Cas reluctantly answered. “Yes.” Satan ran with that. “It’s true. So, how’d I do all this evil? For all of these centuries, I wonder?” Castiel tried hard to think of something to counter his words, but to no avail. “Who locked you up?” Jack inquired. “My dad. Cause I told the truth. See, he loved humans so much, that he couldn't see their flaws, and I told him about it. And he got mad, he felt like I was personally dumping on his masterpiece and so he kicked me out. No time out, nothing, just banished. And yes, as Cas says, I have done some bad things, but I just want the opportunity to be better. Doesn’t everybody? Don’t you?” 

Castiel came striding up to Sam, Dean, Clark, and Mary. “Where’s Jack?” Sam asked. “With Lucifer.” The angel snarled. They all rushed over to where the nephilim and the devil sat, talking. “What’s God like?” Jack was asking his father. Lucifer opened his mouth to speak, but Dean cut him off. “Hey! I told you no talking. And I told you no listening.” Dean shouted at them. “Dean, he’s in chains.” Jack stated. “His mouth isn’t. We should have gagged him.” Dean spat. “No, I need to know about my powers. My family.” Jack countered. “Jack, we are your family. We’ve been protecting you, we’ve been honoring your mother’s wishes, we’re your family.” Cas told him. “Jack, you have no idea who Lucifer really is.” Sam cautioned. “And I never will, unless I talk to him.” Jack snapped. “He did save my life, maybe he’s trying to turn a new leaf, you know, for Jack’s sake.” Clark commented. “Shouldn’t we at least give him a chance?” Lucifer grinned smugly at the Winchesters. “He’s incapable of change.” Sam claimed. “If we give him a chance, then he’ll use it to take advantage of us.” 

*************************************

Mary gathered her people and, with her sons by her side, she led everyone to another base camp. While they were traveling, she had a heart-to-heart with Dean. “Go easy on Jack. He’s been fighting a war. He’s trying so hard to prove himself, but…he’s lost people, friends. It’s going to take him a minute to get through it.” Dean swallowed roughly and nodded, trying his best to internalize her words. “Like it or not, Lucifer is Jack’s father. He’s going to take an interest in him.” She stated. “So, what? We’re just supposed to let Lucifer drag him over to the dark side?” Dean huffed. His mother laughed. “Jack isn’t ‘going to the dark side.’ He’ll see Lucifer’s true nature. And he’ll see it through his own eyes. Not yours.” As the big group of people reached a ’T’ in the road, Cas came running into view from the path on the left. “Find him?” Dean asked about Gabriel. “No. He should be back from scouting by now.” Cas informed. Suddenly the archangel came running at full speed through the woods in front of them. “Angels!” He cried. Several angels manifested from the woods looking to kill. Before they got the chance, however, they were reduced to dust in an instant. Everyone looked to Lucifer, who was now free of his cuffs, which had literally melted off. “Oh. Yeah. About the cuffs, I knew they wouldn’t hold me in this world. Long story short, I didn’t want your impotence to get awkward, so I just went along with it.” Lucifer explained. “You’re welcome! Right? Don’t all thank me at once.” He added when no one spoke up.

The group was led to Bobby’s old auto shop, which was now the center of a refugee camp, and everyone dispersed. Sam and Dean found Bobby and went over their mass evacuation plan, while Jack and Lucifer talked a little more. “That guy over there is your Uncle Gabe.” The devil told him. “We’ve sorta met before.” Jack responded. “Let’s go say hi.” Lucifer suggested. Gabriel was conversing with Clark when Lucifer and Jack came over. They were laughing about something. “So, the thing about Gabe, class clown.” Lucifer stated. “And you’re an ass clown.” Gabe retorted. Lucifer forced a laugh. “Yeah, I guess your time with Asmodeus didn’t do you any favors, huh?” He retaliated. Gabe tensed up at the mention of the demons name. “You know, he was your creation, ‘brother’.” He snapped back. “So, anyways, I was just shaking up the family tree, here, for Jack. Talking about the good ol’ days were. Pops was a bit tougher, though, Right Gabe? I mean, we butted heads a lot but I think, in hindsight, I should have given him some slack because being a dad is tough.” Lucifer rambled. Gabe face-palmed himself in disbelief. “Okay, you think dad was a bad guy? And you were a victim? You are not a victim. That was just your excuse.” Gabriel spat. “Excuse for what?” Lucifer asked. “For it all, Lucifer. For it all.” Everyone was silent for a few awkward seconds. Clark and Jack exchanged a look between them. “Look, I know what you’re doing, Lucifer. You’re trying to show off and trying to pretend that your past isn’t as riddled with heinous crimes as it actually was. Stop pretending brother. Everything bad that has happened to you since the fall, is your own damn fault. You just won’t see it.” Gabriel exploded. “Take responsibility for yourself. You’re never going to get passed your ‘caged days’ if you keep going on as that guy. The “Devil”. Mister all powerful and pure evil. That’s not who you really are, you’ve just forgotten that after all this time.” Lucifer angrily glared at his brother for speaking so plainly, but his eyes stung with bitter tears. Gabriel knew him better than anyone else, and he had just hit him where it hurts the most. Lucifer turned and walked off, like a dog with it’s tail tucked between it’s legs. “Let me know if you ever want reminded of who you once were.” Gabriel offered as Lucifer sundered off. Satan stopped in his tracks and turned back to to face him. “You’re one to talk, Gabe. You cling so tightly to your false identity of “Loki: The Trickster.” But that’s not who you really are either.” He accused. Gabriel was stunned silent and Lucifer disappeared into the surrounding woods.

Bobby and Dean fixed up an old bus that was sitting in the salvage yard, in order to take all of the other-worlders along with them to the rift. They made it there in impressive time, but the light was already starting to fade. “It’s closing…” Sam mumbled. “Alright everybody! We’re running out of time. Let’s move!” He hollered. One after another they rapidly unloaded from the bus. Sam and Dean stationed themselves at the rift, ushering people through. “Woah, woah, woah. Hold up.” Sam said, holding his gun out to block Lucifer from entering the rift. “I want to be with my son.” He explained. “No. We need you and Gabe here, in case any of Michael’s angel’s show up.” Sam ordered. People flooded through the rift and into the bunker, where Rowena was using her magic to keep the rift open. When almost everyone was through, Michael himself blasted into the nearby ground, killing the last three refugees still in apocalypse world. Dean, Sam, Lucifer, and Gabriel stood there ground as Michael approached them. “Hello gentlemen!” He greeted coyly. Lucifer walked forward with his chest puffed out, trying to use fear as a tactic. “Oh, Lu. You don’t really want to try this again, do you?” Lucifer’s eyes glowed red and he shot a blast of his power at the other archangel. It knocked Michael backwards, but he quickly rebounded, shooting Lucifer back. The devil was knocked on his ass. Michael looked over to the remaining three standing near the rift. “Could it be?” He pondered upon seeing yet another archangel. “Gabriel?” Gabe wagged his eyebrows at him. “Not today, Michael.” He winked before galloping over to the rift and jumping through. Dean followed through after him. Sam watched as Lucifer rose to his knees, holding a hand up in defeat. Michael raised his archangel blade to strike, and that’s when Sam turned and entered the rift. He landed in the bunker with everyone else. “Close it!” He boomed at Rowena. She shouted something in latin and the rift was gone. Michael didn’t make it to their world, and as far as Sam was concerned, Lucifer was dead. 

In the bunker there was an epic celebration, for an epic win. All of the liquor that was stored in the bunker was pulled out for this special occasion. There was something for everyones liking. Beer, whiskey, scotch, vodka, rum, you name it. The inventory of booze damn near filled the entire surface of the war room table! Excited chatter, laughter, and celebratory shouts filled the bunker. Clark contemplated getting his laptop from his room and putting his Dubstep Pandora Station on, but decided against it. Most of the people here hadn’t heard the sound of music in a very long time, best not to overwhelm them. Jack attempted to grab a beer, but Gabe stopped him. “Nuh-uh. I’ve got something that was made specifically for angels.” He informed his nephew. From out of nowhere, the archangel produced a big glass jar full of a translucent, shimmering, pearly white liquid. “Ready to get your socks knocked off, kid?” Jack nodded with enthusiasm. He needed to get his mind off of Lucifer’s death. “Only 2 shots of this stuff for you, because that’s all you’ll need, being so young. We don’t want you passing out.” Gabriel advised. “Okay.” Jack confirmed. Gabriel lined up three shot glasses and filled them with the pearlescent stuff. He made sure to put the lid back on and then he raised his shot glass. “To an unforgettable night!” He toasted. Jack and Cas both picked up their shots and clicked them against Gabe’s. All three angels knocked back their alcohol at the same time. “Woo!” Gabriel shouted. Jack coughed several times at the intensity of the stuff. “Woah, you okay there, kid?” Cas asked. Jack nodded. “Good. Go socialize, you’ll feel that kick in soon.” Gabe laughed before turning to face Cas. “Hey, you remember that time in Greece when we…” Jack left his Uncle and Father to their own conversation, and looked around to find someone else to converse with. He spoke with Mary for a few moments, then Bobby and Corey. Not long after that he started feeling warmer and lighter, happier even. Everyone was in good spirits and the noise in the bunker only intensified as the night went on. Jack saw Clark out of the corner of his eye a few times. The other boy was knocking back shots and happily carrying on conversations with anyone and everyone. Time passed in a blink of an eye.

After some time, Jack decided to go find Clark, but he kept getting pulled aside by different people. Finally, Gabe shouted for him. The archangel dragged him back to the war room table. “Round two! For you that is. Cas and I are on round four.” He giggled. Gabe sloppily poured another line of shots, and just like before he said a toast and they all clinked glasses. The angels then knocked back their shots. It was easier for Jack this time. “Atta boy! Woo!” Gabriel practically shouted. “Yeah! Look at you drinking like a pro.” Clark’s voice sounded from behind the nephilim. Jack turned around and grinned ear to ear. Clark winked at him and then climbed up on top of the war room table. He extended his hand out to Jack, who proceeded to take it. When they were both standing on the table Clark pulled out his pocket knife and tapped it on the side of his glass a few times. The bunker slowly quieted down and everyone’s eyes became focused on them. “A toast! To this guy right here!” Clark interlaced the fingers of his left hand with the fingers of Jack’s right hand, and held their hands up high in the air. Everyone shouted and cheered. “To the victory we had today, and the victory we will have over Michael in the future!” The ruckus grew even louder and Clark smiled and raised his glass. Everyone else raised their glasses too, and then they all drank to Michael’s destruction. “You’re amazing, you know that?” Clark asked when they were back on solid ground. “And you’re drunk.” Jack laughed into Clark’s ear. “Damn right, I am! You seem pretty buzzed too.” He observed while wrapping his arms around the nephilim’s waist. Jack smiled a goofy grin. “I want to kiss you again.” Jack stated happily. “Well, what’re you waiting for then?” Clark bantered playfully. Jack buried a hand in Clark’s curls and pulled him in roughly. Their lips crashed together greedily, hungrily, and oh so desperately. They could each taste the alcohol that the other had consumed as their tongues explored new territory. They heard several cat calls from the crowd but they didn’t care, they were lost in each other and it was fucking magical.


	16. Rise and Fall

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The other-worlders get settled into the bunker, the prank war concludes, Clark and Jack establish their relationship, Lucifer and Michael return.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, here we are. The end. I seriously enjoyed writing and sharing this story with you all. I am toying with the idea of having a second part of this, but my time has been very divided lately and I hate leaving you guys hanging, so we'll see.
> 
> ***There is drug use in this chapter***

Sam took it upon himself to introduce the new-comers to their world and to help them all settle into the bunker. It took several days for things to start calming down and for a routine to get set into place. Once it did, however, Sam, Dean, and Cas, promptly called for a family meeting. The trio, along with Mary, Jack, and Clark, gathered around the war room. "What's this about?" Mary asked curiously as she joined the others in sitting down at the table. "Jack and Clark." Castiel answered deftly. "Ah." She replied with a nod of understanding. "What about us?" Jack asked innocently. "About the fact that you two were making out in front of everyone a few nights ago." Dean criticized. "So, are we talking about boundaries then, or are we talking about Jack and I being an item?" Clark inquired harshly, keeping his eyes locked on Dean's. There was an awkward pause before Sam answered. “Boundaries. We need to set some, so that we know that you boys are being, um, safe…and, uh, so that you don’t make anyone in the bunker uncomfortable.” He stammered. Clark smirked as he watched the usually put-together Winchester stumble over his words. Jack, however, wore a confused expression. Cas piped up to clarify. "Humans tend to find 'public displays of affection' as uncomfortable or awkward. So it would be best for you and Clark to only kiss in private." The angel explained. "ONLY being the keyword there." Dean emphasized while pointing at Clark. (Though that was not the way Cas had meant it.) "We don't mind if you want to hold hands, or kiss once in a while, but that's as far as you two should be taking this for now." Sam declared. Clark decided not to reply, instead opting to bite the inside of his cheek. After all, there was no way that Jack's dads could keep them from fooling around if they really wanted to. Jack's eyebrows, however, furrowed in thought and his head tilted slightly to the side. It was a trait he shared with Castiel. "You're all worried that Clark and I will engage in sexual activities? Is that what this talk is about?" Jack postulated. All three of his dads faces turned a hilarious shade of red. "Yes, Jack. That is what they're implying." Mary chipped in. Jack nodded. "I understand that our...'displays of affection' might make others uncomfortable, but why are you worried about our safety?" He asked Sam. The Winchester rubbed his face with both hands, trying to will away the blush that lit up his cheeks. Clark suppressed a laugh, but he couldn't resist adding, "Yeah, guys. What could possibly be dangerous about sex?" Mary huffed out a laugh, crossed her arms, and sat back farther in her chair to observe her boys responses. She was just as amused as Clark was. Sam, Dean, and Cas could fight monsters all day, but having the talk with Jack? That was not something they were prepared for. "Jack..." Castiel sighed. "...sex can be dangerous if you boys don't wear condoms. You could get a sexually transmitted disease." "Oh, okay." Jack replied. That made perfect sense. "But...I'm a bit confused. Why exactly do you want us to refrain from a deeper intimacy? Sam and Dean are always picking up people they don't even know. Clark and I are boyfriends." Clark's heart leapt upon hearing Jack call him his boyfriend. A content smile settled on his lips. "Don't turn this around on us." Dean snipped. "You, mister, are two years old." He argued. "Dean...Jack might have been born two years ago, but his body is that of a teenage boy. You should really think of him as more of Clark's age." Mary interjected. "Are you seriously defending him?" Dean huffed. "Yeah, I think I am. Jack. Clark. Do what you will, just, be courteous of others." Mary ordered with an accepting smile. Dean threw his hands in the air, defeated. "Not cool, mom." He retorted. 

******************************************************

The bunker felt over crowded with all of these extra people, despite the fact that the structure was built to easily accommodate the thirty people that were now residing in it. Clark passed the days by setting up and pulling off epic pranks on Gabriel. Both of them tried their best to only prank each other, but sometimes other people would get caught in the cross fire. The archangel had more experience and natural talent for pranks. Clark won a few battles, but Gabriel ended up winning the war. Clark conceded after he inadvertently set off a glitter bomb in his room. After the whole ordeal, Clark grew restless. He had never been claustrophobic, but now he felt like the bunker was a big stuffy box and he needed to get out of it. He woke up one morning and packed a bag. Throwing it over his shoulder, he headed down the hall to knock on his boyfriend's bedroom door. As soon as the door swung open, Clark spoke. "Pack a bag angel boy. We're getting out of here for a few days." The teen declared. Jack smiled and quickly obeyed. While the nephilim packed Clark wrote a quick note to leave on Jack's bed. They hit the road, heading East into the bright rays of the sun. Clark drove with one hand on the wheel and one hand laced with Jack's. The radio was blaring upbeat music and all the windows were rolled down. It was refreshing for both of them after being cooped up for so long. Clark drove down the highway for an hour before pulling off onto a small dirt road. "Lovewell State Park." Jack read as they passed a welcome sign. "Yep! Flat grassy land and a big lake. We are going to rent a cabin and then spend the rest of the day soaking up nature." He informed the nephilim. A huge grin swept across Jack's face. "You're so cute when you smile like that." Clark declared before leaning over to steal a quick kiss. 

The boys got the keys to their cabin and changed into swim trunks that Clark had brought. "I've never swam before." Jack informed the older boy. "Well, it is an important survival skill, so I'll help you learn." They spent a good portion of the day at the lake. Clark taught Jack how to doggy paddle and tread the water. They splashed and played like the kids that they are. It was the most fun Jack had ever had. After they left the lake, they laid in the soft grass to dry off in the summer sun. They talked for hours, until the sun sank into the horizon, painting the sky with beautiful fluid oranges and pinks. The boys sat and watched as the water of the lake reflected the glorious sunset and Jack couldn't help but stare in awe. Clark loved the view, but he enjoyed watching the colors play across Jack's face more. He wished that there would be many more days like this to come. It was then that he realized that he loved the nephilim sitting by his side. The thought took him by surprise. He had never been in love before, was it possible to fall this quickly? Jack caught him staring and smiled. The stars came out and Clark stood, offering his hand to his boyfriend. He led him to the fire pit near their cabin and got a small flame going. "Stay here." He told Jack, remembering what he had brought in his backpack. He ran into the cabin and then came back out with a cigarette in his hand. He extended the tip of the little white stick into the fire to light it before plopping down into a camping chair right next to Jack. Clark took a drag, coughed a few times, and then handed it over to Jack. He took it and held it, confusion showing on his face. "Go on, take a hit, it's not going to bite." Clark laughed. "I thought you said that cigarettes are bad for your health?" Jack said. "I did. That's not a cigarette babe. It's a dubie." Jack still wore a quizzical expression. "It's weed." Clark elaborated. "Oh! Okay." The nephilim responded. He hesitantly raised the blunt to his lips and then inhaled the smoke. It filled his lungs and sent him into a small coughing fit. The other boy reached out and took it back. He took another hit, blowing the smoke into the night air. "This is good shit. You'll feel your body and mind relax soon." Clark told Jack. They passed the joint back and forth until in was down to the stinger. "Wow. You weren't kidding about being relaxed. I like this feeling." Jack mused. He felt calm, fuzzy, gleeful. "We should do it more often. I mean, the work that we do is so insanely stressful. We've got to unwind once in a while." Jack nodded in agreement. Clark threw the butt into the fire and then shoveled sand over it to put it out. "Let's go inside." He suggested. 

Clark put some music on, changed, and then dug through his bag for his toothbrush. He heard Jack in the kitchen, opening and closing cabinets. "You hungry or something?" Clark laughed knowingly. "Why is there no food in this cabin?" Jack pouted loudly. "You're supposed to bring your own." Clark explained from the next room over. He gave up his search for his toothbrush (maybe he forgot it?) and instead meandered over to the kitchen to join Jack. "It seems like there's only one snack in here." Clark giggled. Jack didn't understand. "Where?" He asked. Clark strode over to him and grabbed him gently by the hips. "You. You're the snack." He answered before kissing him passionately. Jack wrapped his arms around his boyfriends neck and kissed him back. "You're so weird." He laughed when they broke apart. "Get used to it." They kissed for a while, hot and heavy, and yet slow and unhurried. Clark was the one that made the next move, rubbing circles on Jack's hipbones with the pads of his thumbs and moving his mouth down to suck and nip at the other boy's neck. Jack moaned with pleasure at the new sensations. His high allowed his body and mind to react naturally. He felt like he wanted to run his hands through Clark's hair, so he did. Then he let his hands explore over Clark's defined shoulders, down his back, over his sexy ass. Clark hesitantly pulled away and opened his mouth to speak, but stopped dead in his tracks when Jack lifted his shirt above his head and discarded it carelessly to the floor. "Damn baby." Clark admired. He devoured the sight of his boyfriend's sculpted chest and bit his bottom lip. "God...I want to make you feel so good." He confessed, his voice husky with lust, "Are you sure you're ready for this? I don't want you to feel forc.." Clark didn't get to finish his sentence because Jack cut him off with a hot kiss. He grabbed the hem of Clark's t-shirt and peeled it off of him. Clark grinned, giddy with desire as their bare skin touched. "Oh, Jack. I'm about to rock your world." He boasted before slipping his hands under the waistband of Jack's jeans. He grabbed his boyfriend's ass firmly, pulling him in and grinding their bodies together. Jack's head rolled back in ecstasy. "Fuck..." He hissed. "That's right baby. Talk dirty to me." Clark praised. He felt himself becoming lost in the throughs of passion. That is, until there was a series of stern knocks on their cabin door. The boys jumped apart, utterly startled. "Jack?" A voice called as the door was swung open. 

"Lucifer! How are you...how did you...what are you doing here?" Jack stammered while picking his shirt up off of the floor. Fuck! Talk about inconvenient timing. "Whoa. What am I interrupting here? A human, Jack? Really?" Lucifer chided, raising a brow in question. Jack stood up tall and steeled himself. "His name is Clark, and he's my boyfriend. And in case you forgot, again, I am half human." He defended. "Riiight. Anyway, I'm here because I wanted to talk my son one on one. We didn't get the chance before because your so called 'dads' left me to die in the apocalypse world." Jack glared at his father while he processed that information. He looked over to Clark and sighed heavily. "You should head back to the bunker." Clark raised in eyebrow at him. "If that's what you want." Jack nodded, so Clark collected his bag from the bedroom. Before he left he grabbed Jack by the hand and whispered, "Be safe. If anything feels off, fly home. I hope it doesn't but..." Clark looked over to Lucifer and looked him over, then turned back to his boyfriend and kissed him sweetly. "I will. It's okay." Jack told him. Clark walked towards the door, not letting go of Jack's hand until their arms were outstretched. "Lucifer." He acknowledged with a nod as he passed by. Lucifer raised his pointer and middle finger to the side of his forehead and waved his hand in a mock salute. The door closed with a thud behind the older boy and Lucifer returned his attention to Jack. "Well, you work fast. I'll give you that. What are you, like, two years old?" Jack rolled his eyes. "What did you come here to talk about?" He questioned. "Why don't we take a walk?" Lucifer suggested. 

It was a perfectly clear night. The stars twinkled brightly in the infinitely deep midnight sky. Jack and Lucifer walked in silence around the perimeter of the lake for quite some time, absorbing the view. Finally, Jack spoke. "Sam said you were dead. That Michael killed you. He lied to me?" Jack asked. "Yep. Sam was actually the one who left me behind. See, I think he thought that I would be trapped in that litter box world forever. Cause that worked so well last time." He huffed. "But, I, uh, think I had it coming. For all the things that I'd done to him. But you know what? I'm movin' on." Lucifer declared in an attempt to impress Jack. "But, if the rift is closed, how are you here?" Jack inquired. "Not how. Why. I'm here for you, Jack. Because, even though the three amigos won't admit it, you need me." Jack stopped walking and faced his father. "Do I?" He boldly asked. Lucifer's hand dramatically shot up to his cover his 'wounded' heart. "You do. Cause we're blood, and we're not human no matter how much we pretend to be." He pointedly told his son. Jack looked angrily down at his shoes. "Jack, human's are...limited and fragile. I know you think that this fling, or whatever you got going on with that boy...Clark, is 'super amazing'. But, I'm telling you, from millennia of experience, no matter how much you try to do right around these humans, something always goes wrong. You follow?" Jack had to admit that it often did seem that way. "I...I know." He confirmed. Lucifer's face lit up. "Right. And that's not their fault. Or ours. It's just us and humans, were like oil and water. Sardines and strawberries. It's just a bad combination." Lucifer explained. "What are you suggesting we do?" Jack asked. "Leave." Lucifer stated, pointing to the stars above them. "I mean, there's a whole universe out there! Planets, stars, galaxies...why should we stay here on earth when we can go anywhere else. Heck, everywhere else." Jack's face scrunched in thought. "Like Star Wars?" "Exactly like Star Wars!" Lucifer exclaimed. Jack shook his head. "But Clark. Sam, Dean, and Castiel...They'll miss me." Lucifer put a hand on his son's shoulder and looked him in his eyes. "Yes, they will. They will. But you have to live your life for you. This is our second chance. Our opportunity to escape our pasts, and our sins, and start over. What do you say? Father-son trip? You up for an adventure buddy?" He asked. "I...I don't know. I'd like to but...I..." Jack didn't feel like he could leave his family, but he also wanted to explore space. He has always been entranced by the pure beauty of the midnight sky. Lucifer had planted a seed of doubt and now Jack was torn."I...I want to, I just..."

"Jack! Jack!" Sam's voice sliced through the nephilim's skull. "Jack! I don't know where you are, and I don't even know if you can hear this prayer, but we need you. We need you." Sam pleaded. Jack's eyes glowed golden as he glared murderously at Lucifer. "What? What's going..." But Jack flew off in an instant, back to the bunker. "Fuck!" The devil growled. In the bunker, Michael had Dean in his clutches and was slowly chocking the life out of him. Jack used his powers to knock the archangel back into a nearby pillar. "Jack." Sam breathed. "I heard your prayer." He told him. The sound of flapping wings signaled Lucifer's presence. "It's me. Yay." He said sarcastically. "Jack, buddy, we done here?" He asked as he put a hand on the boy's shoulder, he just wanted to get them out of here. Michael stood up and looked to the nephilim with rage. "You are going to pay for that." He snarled. Jack's eyes glowed and with a twist of the hand he sent Michael to his knees, screaming out in pain. "You hurt my friends. You hurt my family!" He yelled. Blood seeped from Michael's eyes and ears. Dean, Sam, Castiel, Gabriel, and Clark all watched from where they had been thrown onto the floor by the evil entity. "Whoa." Lucifer commented nervously. Jack let up slightly and Michael shouted. "Lucifer! We had a deal!" Jack's head snapped over to the archangel behind him. "What is he talking about?" Jack demanded. "Whoa-K. Game over. Hey buddy, let's, uh, let's split, okay?" Lucifer responded. "What does he mean. What deal?" Jack asked again. "I...I, uh, I don't know. I didn't..." Lucifer stammered. "He gets you, and I get everything else." Michael wheezed. "Is that true? Is that why you wanted us to leave?" Jack interrogated. "No...it's not." Lucifer said as he took a few steps back from the nephilim. "Leave?" Clark asked. "He said we'd go to the stars." Jack relayed. "What, and you're going to leave the rest of us here to burn?" Cas accused. "Okay, let's, hold on a second, let's slow down. I'm not currently the bad guy here." The devil defended. "Aren't you? Tell me the truth!" Jack commanded. The golden glow returned to his eyes, he lifted his hand towards Lucifer, and the archangel's eyes lit up the same color. "I helped Michael open a rift to this world so that I could come back and be here for you. I had to make a deal with him, so that he wouldn't kill me, and so I told him that he could have this world to burn in exchange for you." The glow left his eyes and he went into a coughing fit. Jack looked to Michael, who was rendered useless from his attack. "Lucifer promised you something that he has right to give. You shouldn't have believed him, but I'm glad you did, because now. It's your turn to pay." Jack mustered up all of the hate, rage, and spite that he had in him and concentrated it into an immensely powerful beam of energy. Michael screamed in agony before an explosion of his grace sent a shockwave through the bunker, sending everyone, but Jack, hurdling backwards. Papers flew into the air, lamps were knocked off the tables, and the lights went out. When the red flashing emergency lights kicked on, the dark black smoldering outline of Michael's wings, now etched permanently into the war room floor, were revealed. 

Clark looked up at the boy standing in the scene of chaos with the red light illuminating his stern expression in waves. It downright terrified him and he had to swallow down the lump in his throat before he could speak. "Jack?" He squawked, barely audible. There was a shuffling sound from the back of the room. Jack whipped around and froze Lucifer into place. "You're not going anywhere." He barked before waving his hand to turn the lights back on. It looked like a tornado had hit the war room. "You...you did it. You killed him." Cas stated in disbelief. "Jack! Kill Lucifer. Now." Sam ordered. Jack looked over at the younger Winchester and set his jaw. "Do it! What are you waiting for?" Dean barked. "No! Don't do it!" Lucifer objected. "You wouldn't kill your own father, would you? Jack? I created you. You owe your life to me." The devil shouted, his eyes glowing red in his rage. He fought against his restraints in vain. "Don't listen to him. He's the devil, Jack. Kill him!" Dean urged. "No!" Clark projected, his voice clear, strong, and commanding. It bounced off of the bunker walls and echoed slightly. "No more death." All eyes landed on the disheveled teen, who stood tall at the edge of the room. "No more anger, no more rage, no more blame..." He continued as he walked over to Jack's side. "Today the slates are wiped clean. For everyone. Even Lucifer." He declared, directing the last part at the Winchester brothers. "No. Clark, you don't know wha..." Sam objected. "I agree with Clark." Gabriel spoke up, cutting Sam off. "What?!?" Dean shouted, "Are you all crazy? Cas. Help me out here." But Castiel didn't know who to defend. "We've given him chances to change Gabriel, I...I don't know if he's capable." The angel input. Gabe considered his brothers words thoughtfully. Dean was surprised that Cas was being flaky about this. "What? seriously? You can't possibly..." "Shut up!" Jack snapped. An intense silence befell the war room. Gabriel was the only one that moved. He walked over to Michael's empty vessel, dead on the cold hard ground, and traced the black pattern of wings with his eyes as he thought. No one else dared to say a word. The archangel turned and walked over to the devil, stopping when he was right in front of him. "What say you, Lucifer?" Gabriel asked. Lucifer was calming down, the glow was gone from his eyes and tears had begun to form in them instead. "Can you change?" Gabriel elaborated. Lucifer clenched his jaw as tears slid down his face. He hated being put in such a vulnerable position. "I...I don't know." He answered honestly. Gabriel sighed deeply, hurt by the image in front of him. "Let him go, Jack." He ordered. Lucifer fell to his knees, and didn't bother getting back up. He was defeated and he knew it. "Oh, big brother. I'm so sorry." Gabriel told him. "Just do it, Gabriel. Just kill me already. Put me out of my misery." Lucifer begged. The devil flinched when he felt the other archangel's hand on his shoulder. But instead of putting an archangel blade through his heart, Gabriel embraced him tightly in a hug. Lucifer didn't know how to respond, he was confused, and his arms stayed at his sides. Everyone watched, holding their breathes, unsure of how to feel about this turn of events. "It's okay, Lucifer. It's okay. I'm not going to hurt you. I'm going to help you. And you're going to help me." Gabriel spoke with a gentle tone. "Help you?" Lucifer snorted, "How?" Gabriel released his brother and sat back to look at the broken archangel. "Repent your old ways, brother, leave them in the past. And help me restore heaven." Gabriel offered. "Under strict supervision at first, of course." He added. "You're serious?" Lucifer asked incredulously. Gabriel smiled and touched his hand to his brother's shoulder again. This time though, the duo disappeared into thin air. 

"Son of a bitch!" Dean shouted. "Dean, let it go." Cas ordered. He waved his hand and returned the war room to it's usual state. "This is gonna bite us in the ass!" Dean warned them. "Maybe." Cas replied with a shrug of his shoulders. Dean shook his head and stormed off to his room and Sam followed suit. Castiel sighed heavily. "Jack, how are you feeling?" He questioned. "Drained." The nephilim replied simply. Cas laughed gently. "Yeah, well, you just took on Michael and won. That's understandable. Come on, you should rest now." Castiel told him. "Don't worry about him, Cas." Clark said, walking over and taking Jack's hand in his own. "He helped me heal and now I'm going to return the favor." Jack smiled contently. "It might require a lot of movies, candy, and cuddling." Jack teased. "Anything for you." Clark replied. He scooped Jack up into his arms and carried him into his room, depositing him onto the bed. "I'm not that weak." Jack laughed. "Better safe than sorry." Clark replied playfully. He laid down next to him, and swept the hair out of his face before leaning in to kiss him tenderly. "I love you, Jack." The nephilim's heart jumped at the confession. "I love you too, Clark." He replied instantly. Jack had known it for a while now, but it had never been clearer than in this moment. Everything was better when Clark was around. He brought love, light, and laughter into his life and Jack hoped that it would last forever.

**Author's Note:**

> Make sure to bookmark, so you can keep reading as I post new chapters!


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